Oh so different
by A-Karana
Summary: Family life with Luke and Lorelai as a married couple
1. Pink tutus

**Chapter 1: Pink tutus**

"Laila get your dolls out of the way, Sara remove your head from the table, Will stop playing with your football in here, sit down and eat!" Luke said, while he balanced two plates in one hand and picked up Sara´s jacket off the floor with the other. Emily had dropped them off at the diner after pre-school and kindergarten was over and now it was his turn to look after the kids.  
Since another report about the Inn had come out a year ago, Lorelai was more than busy and was not able to look after the kids anymore during work. So Luke, Emily, and Richard had arranged a plan to look after the five year old William and his four year old sisters Sara and Laila.  
After Luke placed the food in front of a customer he joined his children at the table and ate a sandwich while he listened to them.

"Daddy, today at school we drew a picture and then Mrs. Ellen said that we would learn how to write our name, but I already know that! So I told her and then Timmy said I was lying and I said I wasn´t and then he said I was again. Then I told him that he is stupid and should leave me alone and Mrs. Ellen said that she is not okay when I insult the other kids and I had to sit on a chair for half an hour! But he is stupid, daddy! I was not lying, I know how to write my name!" William said angrily and slammed his fist down on the table.

"I can write my name, too!" Sara yelled immediately.

"Me too! Me too!" Laila joined her.

"Hey! Quiet! And William, please don´t hit the table it´s not like Timmy has anything to do with it! Your drinks will spill if you slam your fist on the table!" Luke said calmly and handed William a napkin to wipe up the mess he had made.

"Daddy, please don´t make me go there again, Mrs. Ellen is stupid and she hates me!" William said and then took a bite of his sandwich.

"Will, you have to go to pre-school and I am sure Mrs. Ellen does not hate you!" Luke tried to calm him.

"Daddy, will mommy buy me the pink ballet-dress today?" Sara asked with a mouth full of food.

"Sara, don´t talk with your mouth full! First chew, then swallow, then talk! And I don´t think your mother has time for it. She doesn´t even have time to stop by and eat with us!"

"But she promised that she would go with us! Miss Patty said that we need the tutus! All the other girls already have them, we are the only ones without them!" Laila whined and started sniffing.

"Laila, I can´t change your mother´s busy schedule and I am sorry that you are the only ones without tutus, but there is nothing I can do! You have to talk to your mother!"

"But we are already asleep when she comes home daddy!" Laila was really crying now. She was the one who took it the hardest that Lorelai was so busy. She was a total mama´s-girl, while Sara was a daddy´s-girl. Before it had never been a problem, but now when Lorelai didn´t have any time at all, Laila was very difficult and whiny.  
Luke took her out of her chair and placed her on his lap, hugged her, and tried to soothe her.

"I want mommy!" Laila cried.

"Sshhh, princess! I will call your mommy and ask her, okay?" Luke said.

"I wanna call her!" Laila sniffed.

"Okay, come on, we will call her right now!" Luke said and stood up.

"I wanna talk to her, too!" Sara said and jumped off the chair and ran behind the counter to the phone. Luke sat Laila down on the counter, then picked up Sara and sat her beside her sister, before he picked up the phone and dialed Lorelai's number.

"Dragonfly Inn, Michel speaking." Luke heard.

"Hello Michel, it´s Luke, can you please get me Lorelai on the phone?"

"She is busy!"

"Michel, it´s urgent!"

"She is very busy!" He said annoyed.

"Give me my wife! Right now!" Luke said, just as annoyed. It took some time before Lorelai picked up the phone and Luke was even more annoyed then, because he had had to listen to the horrible melody, while Michel had put the phone on hold.

"Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai Danes." She said and sounded exhausted.

"It´s me, your kids want to talk to you!" Luke told her and she could tell by his voice that he was annoyed. Luke handed Laila the phone.

"Mommy? Hello?" The girl said.

"Hello my princess? What´s up?" Lorelai was happy to hear her daughter's voice, because she hadn´t seen her kids awake in nearly two weeks.

"Mommy, will you buy us the pink tutus today?" Laila asked hopefully.

"Awww, I´m sorry my angel, but I am very busy today."

"Tomorrow?"

"I have a meeting tomorrow, I´m sorry! But you know what? Why don´t we buy them on... oh I have to call you back, Rory is on the other line. I'll talk to you later princess!" Lorelai said and hung up. Laila stared at the phone in her hand and tears formed in her eyes, then spilled.

"Oh, princess, what did she say?" Luke asked her and hugged his daughter.

"She has no time and then Rory called and she hung up!" Laila sobbed and Sara started crying also.

"But I wanted to talk to her, too!" She cried and Luke hugged her to him with his other arm.

"Ssssh, don´t cry!"

"But we will be the only ones without tutus! Mommy is a stupid liar" Sara yelled angrily through her tears. Luke didn´t say anything to that because he could understand how disappointed the girls felt; the kids weren´t the only one who suffered because of Lorelai´s lack of time. He missed her also. A lot.

"You know what? We will drop William off at his soccer training and then we will drive to the mall and get you two some tutus, okay?" Luke asked and hoped that they would accept.

"Thank you daddy!" Laila looked up and looked at him with adoration, something she normally only did with Lorelai. Then she snuggled close to him again and he put a kiss on each of the girl's heads.

"Come on, let´s finish eating!" He said and placed Laila on the ground while Sara jumped off the counter and ran back over to the table where William was still eating.

"Daddy, look there are the pink ones!" Sara yelled three hours later, while they walked into a store at the mall. They had spent one hour in there already and Luke was annoyed.

"Daddy, it´s boring in here! Can´t we go to Toys R us?" William whined and strolled behind them slowly.

"Can I have a white one?" Laila asked and tugged at his hand.

"I thought you said you need a pink one!" Luke asked her, while Sara had already picked out two tutus and held them against her in front of the mirror.

"Daddy, which one is better?" She wanted to know.

"Can I have a white one?" Laila asked at the same time and William was still complaining about why he had to come with them. Luke felt, that he was seconds from losing it and took a deep breath.

"Stop it and be quiet, all of you! Laila you said you needed a pink one, then get a pink one. Sara pick one, the one that fits and is cheaper if you ask me and William: just be quiet and don´t annoy me! You know I hate malls and your yammering doesn´t make it better!" Luke said harshly and all three kids looked shocked. Laila started to cry first, followed by Sara. William did not say anything.  
Luke leaned down and picked up his daughters, soothed them again, and apologized.

"I´m so sorry. I didn´t mean to be so harsh! Don´t cry! It´s just... I don´t like the malls, the crowd of people in here makes me sick. But we will buy you two your tutus, okay? Laila, pick a pink one and then another one, I don´t care which color. The same goes for you Sara, okay?" He pulled back and looked at them. Their blue eyes were still clouded with tears, but they were smiling again. Luke was relieved and stroked over Sara's wild curls, which looked exactly like Lorelai's. Laila's hair was pulled in pigtails and Luke took the end of one and tickled her nose with it. The girls started to giggle and then both girls hugged him, before they grabbed his hands and dragged him to the tutus, so that he could help them choose and try them on.

When Luke turned around to where William was supposed to be waiting, twenty minutes later, to tell William that they would go to the toys store next, so he could pick out something also, the boy was not there.  
Sara and Laila were at the register, wanting to pay themselves, but William was nowhere to be seen.  
Immediately Luke´s pulse sped up. He ran through the store and looked for him, but he couldn´t find him. He called him, but got no answer.

TBC


	2. Piggy talk

**Sorry for the formating of the last chapter, but it´s a looooong story, which includes me deleting half of the story and so on, anyway, sorry! This one is looking normal again though!

* * *

****Chapter 2: Piggy talk**

Luke was completely panicked. For one hour he had run through the mall looking for William. One of the saleswoman in the kids fashion store had volunteered to look after the twins. Luke had already informed the security personnel at the mall and the woman at the information desk. They made announcements every ten minutes over the speakers, but William was still missing.

Luke´s first guess had been that he went to the toy store, but he hadn´t been there. Luke, knowing his son, was convinced that William ran away and wasn´t kidnapped. He knew the boy was angry at him and maybe even more angry and disappointed with his mother. Luke had wanted to drop William off at soccer practice, but then remembered that this day was parents/kids training and because Lorelai was busy and didn´t keep her promises, Luke could not go with him and had to go with the twins to the mall. Luke had asked William if he wanted to go to his training alone, but the boy had refused.

So Luke ran through the shopping center now and looked for his son. He stopped for a moment and thought about where he already had been: the toy store, the sports store, the kids fashion store, fishing supplies, and the ice-cream and food area. Then suddenly he had an idea. "Stupid Danes!" Luke thought and started to run again.

* * *

He arrived at the pet-shop after a few minutes and immediately walked to the area where the guineapigs could be found. And, of course, there he was, kneeling in front of the cage, talking to the pets. 

"Meeko always helps me at home, you know. But my daddy forced me to come here. I don´t wanna be here. I told you about the training right? Today I should have had a training with my daddy or my parents, but mommy never has time. She only does things with the twins and Rory. Rory is my big sister. But I don´t like her. Every time she comes mommy only talks to her and we are not allowed to talk to mommy. Rory never had a daddy who was there and so she needs mommy. But she is an adult and we are still small! She has a boyfriend and everything, but still mommy says "kiddo" to her. That´s so stupid. Mommy is stupid, too! I don´t like her anymore. She promised to buy the stupid tutus, but of course, she didn´t keep her promise and daddy has to buy them. And he does not want to buy them because he hates malls. And then he yelled at me. He always yells at me since mommy is so stupid. She is stupid to him, too, you know. He isn´t allowed in the house either when Rory comes!" William told the guinea pigs and sniffed a few times. Luke had approached him slowly and quietly, wanting to hear what William was saying. He wasn´t surprised by what he heard. He had already tried to talk with Lorelai, but that was fruitless when it came to Rory and as long as she was busy.

William was right. The second Rory showed up it was like it was still just the two of them: The famous Gilmore Girls. The twins were sometimes allowed to stay when they had a Gilmore Girls movie night, like they called it, but William was always kicked out. He was a boy, it was as simple as that.

Of course, Lorelai loved her son also. Just as much as the twins.

But it seemed like she loved Rory just a bit more and William felt it. Luke tried to compensate for the lack of attention Lorelai was giving him, but now while he constantly had to look after all three, it wasn´t possible anymore.

He had had hope that things would change when Rory flew to see Logan in London three weeks ago, but nothing changed. The time she would normally spend with her daughter, Lorelai spent now at the Inn instead.

* * *

"Hey Will!" Luke said quietly, so as not to startle him. William's head shot around and he looked scared at his father, unsure of what would come. He was even too shocked to speak. Luke kneeled down in front of him. 

"Will, promise me that you will never, never ever run away again. You have no idea how scared I was! I was running around here for one hour looking for you, I alarmed the security service and the woman at the information desk. Don´t ever do that again!" Luke said and the relief settled in. He took William in his arms and the boy started to cry.

"I´m sorry daddy! I´m sorry!" He cried.

"Don´t cry! Just promise me not to do it again!" Luke said and pulled back, so that William had to look at him.

"I promise, daddy!" He sniffed and Luke wiped his tears away and picked him up and kissed him.

"Let´s inform the security that I found you and then pick up your sisters and go home. We´ve already been in this stupid mall way too long!"

"Have you seen the piggy over there? The black one? Isn´t it cute? It´s a lady, daddy, see..." He rambled excitedly and Luke placed another kiss on his cheek without saying anything.

* * *

They arrived at home another hour later and Luke was surprised to see Lorelai´s car in the driveway. It was only seven o´clock in the evening. He couldn´t remember a day during the last year when she had been home before nine. 

The kids were tired and so was he, so he opened the back doors of the car and helped them to get out.

They found Lorelai in the living room, on the phone, obviously talking to Rory.

"Hey they just arrived! Hey kids, say hi to Rory!" Lorelai said excitedly and held the phone in the direction of her kids. But the twins were too tired, William too jealous, and Luke too mad to say anything. They all just looked at her, remained silent, and then walked upstairs together, but not without Luke shooting her an angry glare.

* * *

Lorelai was confused and ended the call after a few more minutes. She stood up and walked upstairs. She found the twins already dressed in their pajamas and tucked in, but still awake. 

"Hey my babies!" She said quietly and sat down on Laila´s bed.

"Did you have a nice day, princess?" She asked her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Uhuh, daddy bought us tutus!" The girl smiled sleepily.

"Your daddy went to the mall with you?" Lorelai said surprised and went over to Sara´s bed.

"Yes, and we ate ice-cream after daddy found Will again!" Sara told her.

"Found Will? Where was he?" Lorelai wanted to know.

"He ran away to the piggies!" Sara said honestly and yawned.

"Well, I will let you sleep now. Night you two!" Lorelai said and kissed Sara´s forehead before she walked outside and closed the door.

* * *

She couldn´t believe it! What had Luke been doing at the mall? And how could he lose William?And how could William dare to run away? Lorelai felt the anger building up in her chest and walked over to her son's bedroom. 

Luke was sitting on William´s bed reading a story for him, like he did every night.

"How could you dare run away?" Lorelai asked William upset, interrupted Luke, and startled them both.

"Didn´t we tell you a thousand times not to run away? I can´t believe it! No more soccer training for you this month, I swear! I´m very disappointed in you!" She lectured William and his eyes teared up.

"Lorelai, leave it, I already took care of it!" Luke told her before she could go on.

"And you don´t worry, you will go to your training! One missed training is enough, huh?" Luke winked at William and tried to calm him. Then he closed the book, kissed him good night, switched off the lights, pushed Lorelai out the door and closed it. Then he walked to their bedroom, grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to change, followed closely by Lorelai, who was now more angry than before.

* * *

She just burst into the bathroom, slammed the door shut behind her and started to yell. 

"First you lose our son at the mall and now you question my authority in front of him? What the hell are you thinking? And buying him ice-cream isa new secret way to punish him for running away? When I imagine what could have happened! You know that he goes with everyone, thanks to this nice little town and its crazy inhabitants! He trusts everyone, how could you leave him without supervision? I mean here it is no problem, but at the mall? I nearly had a heart-attack when Sara told me that Will ran away. And then you didn´t even bother calling me! What if you hadn´t found him? And what were you doing at the mall anyway? I thought you hated malls, they make you uncomfortable and sick and..."

"I was at the mall because you promised the twins weeks ago that you would buy them their stupid pink tutus they need for their ballet-classe! But because you didn´t keep your promise, again I might add, and then hung up on Laila because Rory was calling, I had to go with them! And, if that wasn´t enough, it´s the stupid parent's day at Will's soccer training, which he couldn´t join, because none of his parents had time, so he refused to go, so I had to take him with me to the mall, where of course I lost it, because I hate malls, and yelled at them so he ran to the guinea-pigs to tell them how stupid and unfair his parents are! And you know what? He is right! He should have been at the soccer training and I should have been there with him! Just as you should have gone to buy the tutus with your daughters!" Luke yelled back, stormed out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

Lorelai needed some time to process Luke's angry rant and then followed him outside. She found him downstairs in front of the TV with a beer in his hands.

"Luke, I didn´t mean to yell at you! I was just so shocked when I heard that Will had gone MIA at the mall. Im sorry for not keeping my promise, but I´m just so busy at the moment. Please Luke, I´m sorry, I really am!" She said and sat down beside him, lay her head on his chest and hugged him.

Luke took a deep breath and then slung his arms around her, stroked her hair for a few seconds.

The he placed a kiss on her forehead, untangled from her and stood up.

"You don´t need to tell me that. Tell the kids and don´t make promises you can not keep all the time!" He said and walked upstairs into the bedroom, leaving her alone in the living-room.

**TBC**


	3. Rory called

Thanks for the reviews! I´m glad there are still some of you out there who want to know what´s going on in the Danes household. I wasn´t sure if writing ANOTHER sequel wouldn´t be too much, but I think it might be okay!

Keep up the reviews!

And thanks to Rachel, you the best! (You know why!)

* * *

**Chapter 3: Rory called**

Three weeks later Lorelai walked into the diner in the afternoon. She expected Luke and the kids to be there, but couldn´t see or hear them.

"Hello Lorelai!" Patty greeted her.

"Hi Patty!" Lorelai said and wanted to go upstairs as fast as possible, because she wasn´t in the mood to gossip with Miss Patty. She had been working more than ever these last few weeks, let alone the last whole year. She felt exhausted, physically and emotionally. She missed her husband and her children. So finally after all this time she had taken half a day off and wanted to spend her time with her family. She really needed it.

"They are not upstairs, honey!" Patty told her.

"No?"

"No, haven´t seen them all day. But Luke called me three days ago and told me that the twins were sick, so I assumed they still are." Patty said and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah, uh...sure... they are." Lorelai had had no idea that they were sick.

"You didn´t know that, right? Pay attention so that you don´t forget your sexy husband and your cute children over all that work you bury yourself in." Patty advised her.

Lorelai just nodded and smiled before she quickly left the diner and went home as fast as possible.

* * *

"Luke? Luuuke?" She yelled when she entered the house. She threw her purse on the floor and kept calling him, while she slipped off her shoes and walked into the living room.

When she still got no answer she walked upstairs and heard voices coming out of the twin´s room.

"Yes, baby, just this spoon and then you´re done. Come on it will help you sleep!" She heard Luke say and opened the door slowly. Luke was sitting on Sara´s bed and was talking her into taking her medicine, while Laila lay in his lap, in her pajamas like Sara, and was just as pale as her sister. Luke stroked over Sara´s hair after she had taken her medicine and pulled the blanket tighter over her body.

Lorelai had trouble keeping her tears at bay, because she felt horrible. She didn´t even know that her children were sick. She hadn´t seen them awake in weeks and couldn´t remember the last time she had done something with them. And Luke, her wonderful husband, just jumped in and took care of everything, without complaining. She was flooded by love and guilt while she took in the scene.

She walked into the room quietly and let her fingers glide through Luke´s hair, before she took Laila from him and hugged her close.

"Mommy!" The girl mumbled with a raspy voice. And let her head drop on her mother's shoulder. Lorelai pressed her daughter against her and leaned over to kiss Sara a few times, while the girl looked up at her with glassy eyes, before she turned towards her father and snuggled close to him.

Lorelai took Laila and sat down on her bed, leaned against the pillow and covered her daughter with a blanket. She positioned her so that her head was tucked under her chin and she rubbed the girls back soothingly and played with her daughter's curls. She felt that Laila was running a fever while the girl clung to her.

Luke left the room when Sara was asleep and checked on William, who was still playing in his room with his cars. Lorelai followed him outside when Laila was asleep and met Luke in the hall, when he left Will´s room again. He closed the door behind him quietly and looked at her. She couldn´t stand his look, which was a mixture of worry, love and disappointment, so she looked at the floor for some seconds. When she looked up he was still standing in the same spot, with the same look and she burst into tears. Luke hugged her and she sobbed in his shoulder.

"What kind of mother am I, that I don´t know when my kids are sick? All I am doing is working and I miss seeing them grow up and I miss them and I miss you! And you, you just jump in and take care of it all by yourself, without even complaining!" She cried. Luke knew that she was exhausted and didn´t really want to get into the whole subject right then. He had a lot to say about that topic and knew that he couldn´t save her from reproval. She had to change her busy schedule and make place for her family, meaning also her little kids, not only Rory. He put himself in the row at last, first she needed to be there for their children, then they could talk about their relationship.

So he remained silent and just lead her to their bed and lay her down, hugged her close and waited until she was asleep before he left the room again and joined William in his room to play and talk with him.

* * *

An hour later Lorelai opened the door to her son's room and found her men on the ground playing with some cars.

"Hey! You left me alone!" She smiled at Luke.

"You were asleep" He just said and smiled back. Lorelai sat down on the floor next to William and noticed once again how much he looked like Luke and how much he had grown.

"Can I play with you?" She asked William.

"No!" He just said and kept playing and ignoring his mother. Lorelai was taken aback.

"Why not?" She asked.

"You are a girl!" William said distantly.

"Girls can play with cars, too, you know! Come on, my baby, let mommy play with these cute little cars, too!" She begged.

"I am no baby and no!" William said, not looking at her.

Luke who knew that this discussion would lead to nothing, decided to get himself out of this situation, because he knew that Lorelai would press on and at one point or the other William would explode and then the five year old would tell his mother some things she wouldn´t be keen to hear. And he did not want be there when that happened, because he would have to tell her that William was right, and he knew she wasn´t in a state where she could deal with it.

"I have to go and check on the diner for an hour or so. Can you stay and keep an eye on the kids?" He asked Lorelai and interrupted their discussion.

"No problem, I will just stay here with William and play with him, I´m sure the twins will be asleep for a while" She smiled, thankful for the time with her son.

"No, daddy I wanna come with you!" William yelled immediately and jumped up.

"No, Will stay here with your mother I won´t take long!"

"Noooo! Daddy, please! I don´t wanna stay with mommy! Please daddy! Please!" William begged.

"Will you can stay with me, I promise I won´t touch your precious cars!" Lorelai said clearly hurt by her son´s behaviour.

"No! You´re stupid! I don´t wanna stay with you!" William yelled at her and resumed begging his father to go with him. Lorelai looked like William had slapped her in the face.

"William you will not talk to your mother like that and you will stay here!" Luke said and walked out of the room.

"Daddyyyy! Daddyyyy noooo!" William cried as if Luke would leave forever.

"Will he will be back soon! Calm down!" Lorelai said quietly, still shocked about what happened, but she tried to be mature and not let her son see how much he had hurt her.

"You´re stupid! Get out of my room! I want my daddy!" William cried and threw himself on the floor. Lorelai slowly stood up and walked over to her bedroom, sat down on the bed and cried for the second time that day.

* * *

Luke came back two hours later, because there was more to do in the diner than he had thought. The bills needed to be paid, he needed to order food and so on. A lot had been put aside since the kids were sick and he used the time to catch up.

He found William in the living-room in front of the TV, watching cartoons, but Lorelai was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is your mother?" He asked the boy.

"On the phone with Rory" He answered and pronounced his sister's name like it was poisonous.

"I thought you wanted to play together?" Luke asked with raised eyebrows.

"I did not want to play with her. I wanted to play with you. And then I watched TV and she sat here and then SHE called and mommy is gone" William said and turned his attention back to the screen.

Luke walked upstairs and before he got the chance to look for Lorelai he heard Sara coughing and crying. So he walked into the twin´s room and picked her up, gave her some Tylenol, and calmed her down and took her with him, closing the door behind him.

"Geez, Lorelai! Sara is crying and burning up, where the hell are you?" Luke said angrily and only the feverish child in his arms kept him from yelling . He had been gone for two hours and his daughter was crying her eyes out and his son sat offended in the living-room.

"What...What are you doing?" he asked her confused and still upset when he found her in the bedroom, her suitcase open on the bed and her clothes everywhere in the room.

"Rory called. Logan cheated on her again. She is upset and she needs me. I´m flying over to London!" She told him and kept throwing clothes into the suitcase, while she waited for him to say something and to ask what had happened and if Rory was okay. When he remained silent she looked up, just in time to see the door slam shut. She flinched at the sound and hurried after him.

**TBC**


	4. Have a nice trip

**Thanks for all the reviews! At first I just got a few, so I wondered if this story really is that bad, but the suddenly they kept coming. I hope you keep this up and leave a review after reading.**

**Thanks to Rachel again**

**Oh, and I just learned that there are the finals in the US right now, so good luck to everyone!

* * *

****Chapter 4: Have a nice trip**

"Luke! Luke!"She called him and hurried into the twins' room.

"Would you be quiet! Sara isn´t feeling well and Laila is asleep, not that you would care!" Luke hissed and stroked Sara´s wet curls from her forehead.

"Luke that´s not fair! I love the kids, but Rory needs me!"

"I told you to be quiet! We won´t get into this here. Not in front of the kids!" He said and tried to keep quiet and calm, while inside he was fuming.

* * *

He waited until Sara was asleep again and then walked back into the bedroom where Lorelai had finished packing.

"You already made up your mind, so what did you want to talk about?" He asked.

"I want you to understand why I need to fly over to London. I don´t want you to be mad at me, but you obviously are!" She said and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You know, I can´t remember a single occasion during the last year when it was important if I understand or tolerate your actions. And that´s okay, it´s just me! It´s not important if I understand. But what is important is that the kids don´t understand anymore. They don´t understand why their mother is sitting in her hotel all day long without stopping by for dinner. They can´t understand why she breaks one promise after the other! You know for me it is important that Laila cries at night because she wants her mommy, but you´re not there. It´s important that Sara doesn´t even ask when you come home anymore. And William, geez Lorelai, you saw him! Doesn´t that get you thinking? Doesn´t that make you sad when your own son rejects you?" Luke asked loudly.

"Of course it hurts! It hurts like hell when your kids and your husband hate you!"

"Ah god, don´t be such a drama queen and don´t pity yourself! You know that we don´t hate you. Although when it comes to Will, I would say give him two more years and you´re right. You have no right to complain! You were the one who rejected him first! You have favorites! Your favorite daughter is Rory and her level is unreachable for our kids. Then some miles after comes Laila, then Sara. And then when you can not think of anything else to distract yourself with, then comes Will. You make that boy hate his own sister. He hates Rory, Lorelai! And you made him do that. So please don´t drown in self-pity! You chose Rory over the others again this time. She is a grown woman, she is 26 years old, for gods sake, she does not need you anymore! When you were her age you had a ten year old kid! But here down the hall are your two other daughters lying sick in bed, which you didn´t even know for four days. They have been lying there for four days already and you were too busy to notice! But that wasn´t shocking for anyone of us, because it has been this way for one year. But while you don´t have time for your sick daughters and your son, who could really use some of your attention, you have time to fly to London and hold Rory´s hand while she is wallowing about Logan? Go next door and try to get your son´s respect and trust back! But don´t stand here and want me to understand and help! You made your bed, now lie in it!" Luke yelled and was out of breath when he finished his speech.

Lorelai was crying again, but she knew that Luke wouldn´t soothe her this time. And he was right, she knew it. But the other part of her knew that Rory needed her now. She was her mother, she needed to be there for her.

"You know, our kids always have parents. You are here. Rory only has me. I need to be there for her now!" She sobbed.

"No, obviously our kids only have a father, because their mother disappeared a year ago!" Luke said quietly and walked downstairs to start cooking.

"Luke don´t walk away from me! We´re not finished!" Lorelai said and followed him once again.

* * *

"I said everything I have to say!" He replied, much calmer now that he had gotten everything off his chest. He was standing in the kitchen now, leaning against the counter, his arms crossed in front of his chest, while she stood next to him, clutching the counter with one hand.

"I know that you have every right to be mad at me and I know that I didn´t have time for you during the last year. But this is getting to me, too! I miss you and I miss our kids, so much! I want to be there, I don´t wanna miss everything! Luke, on every birthday for the last year I sat alone in my office crying my eyes out, because I wanted to be here and celebrate with you and not just come home when you´re already asleep and eat the last piece of cake. But I don´t know how to change it, I don´t! With all the guests at the Inn, I have to be there. And then Logan is sent to London again and Rory needed me. I feel like I have to divide myself in several pieces to get everything done, but I´m failing! I don´t know what to do, Luke!" She cried. Luke remembered another conversation when she had used the exact words. But this time he couldn´t object. She was right: She was failing and their whole family was with her. He could only advise her what to do.

"Hire more help at the Inn," He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We can not afford it," She disagreed.

"Lorelai, you added two more buildings, hired another chef, two more people for the counter, around twelve new staff guys and you can´t afford help for you? Then there is obviously a problem concerning the priorities. " Luke was sceptical.

"I don´t trust anyone with it. This hotel was my dream, I wouldn´t be able to stand it if anybody ruins it!"She said and wiped her tears away and tried to get back her composure.

"Sookie had to learn it, too. You forced her, because she needed to learn it. She couldn´t do the work all by herself anymore and obviously neither can you." Luke said calmly and took her free hand in his.

"I will think about it. But about the other thing: Rory needs me. Logan obviously cheated on her again and she found a letter. I need to fly to London and be there for her."

"Lorelai if the situation was be different I would say: Fly. I mean, I have everything covered it´s not like it would change anything if you come home late at night and leave in the early morning hours or not. I would miss you sleeping next to me, yes, but I´m talking about the kids and their routine now. But I am really really worried about William and I wanted to talk to you about it for quite some time now: You reject him, you don´t do anything with him: You have your "girls only"- rule and it´s fine by me, I don´t wanna watch all those crappy movies, but it hurts Will. He was jealous of Rory and the twins right from the start, but we always could handle it. But now it´s just me and the compensation I gave him for your lack of attention is gone now. I don´t have the time anymore to do things just with him, because I have to look after all three all the time. The car thing was a payback. He held up a mirror in front of you, and showed you what you´re doing to him. Showed you how you hurt him. And, honestly, I can understand him. But what worries me most is that he gets more and more aggressive towards others : He constantly fights with the kids at school, he insults them and hits them. His teacher called me three times, only during the last week. Your mother realizes it, too. He misses you! And if you´re flying to London now I´m afraid that will be the last straw and I´m not sure you could be able to work it out with him." He told her and she looked at him with big scared eyes.

"I don´t wanna lose my son! I wanna hold him close and cuddle him like I did when he was a baby. But he is so distant. He threw me out of his room this afternoon and when I wanted to watch TV with him, he didn´t say a single word." She sobbed and still tried to fight the tears.

"Fly to London and your chance is gone. Your´s and Rory´s." Luke said and pulled her close, held her until she calmed down.

* * *

"You´re the most amazing husband. Why do you even bother to put up with me?" She asked some minutes later, when she had calmed down.

"Because you´re my wife and I love you." Luke simply said.

"I love you, too. I hope you know that!" she asked, still looking scared.

"I do know that!" he smiled. She looked up and kissed him very intense, but slow and romantic, then settled back in his arms for some moments.

"I think I will go and talk to Will. Is he still in the living-room?" She asked.

"No, I sent him upstairs. I don´t want him to sit in front of the TV the whole day and watch this crap!" Luke said. She gave him another peck and walked upstairs.

* * *

"Hey sweety, what are you doing?" She asked after she had knocked on the door, without getting an answer. She found him asleep on the floor, surrounded by his toys and Meeko sleeping on top of him. She took the guinea pig and placed it in its cage quietly, then sat down on the floor beside her son. She let her fingers glide through his hair, traced the lines of his face with one finger, then scooped him up in her arms carefully and held him close. She breathed him in like she had done when he had been a baby and placed soft kisses on his cheek. Luke was right, she hadn´t done that for too long. She could´t even remember the last time she had done that. With the twins she sometimes did it when she came home at night and they were asleep already, but not with William. She didn´t know why, because now that she had him in her arms again it hit her how much she had missed him.

"I´m so sorry my baby! So so sorry!" She whispered while she showered his face with kisses. How could she neglect and reject her son? She couldn´t find an answer.

"God, Will, what kind of mother have I been? I love you so much, my boy!" She whispered.

"Mommy?" His sleepy voice asked.

"I´m here honey, I´m here!" She said and tried to rock him back to sleep, but William was awake now and struggled to get out of his mother's arms.

"Where is Meeko?" He wanted to know.

"I put him in his cage, because you were both asleep!" She smiled. William walked towards the cage and opened it again, but the guinea pigs, Meeko andBarney,just yawned and kept sleeping.

William eyed his mother sceptically. Lorelai knew this look, he got it from Luke. He was debating what he should do.

"I´m here to apologize,Will. I know that I didn´t have time for you and that I hurt you and I want you to know how sorry I am!" She said, but he didn´t say anything.

"You know it´s not easy for me with the Inn and your sisters. I´m so busy that I can´t think straight. And now that Rory is in London and wants me to come , it´s just too much and I neglected all three of you, but you especially and I want to tell you that I´m sorry and that I will try everything to change that in the future." She said, laid her hands on his back and pulled him closer so that he was standing directly in front of her.

"Are you going?" He asked while she stroked a strand of hair from his forehead,

"What?" She asked confused and stilled her hand.

"Are you going to London?" He asked more clearly now.

"I don´t know yet. I haven´t decided" She said honestly.

William jumped back from her, his eyes changed to dark blue and his lower lip was trembling with rage.

"Go away! Go to London and stupid Rory!" He yelled.

"William!" Lorelai exclaimed shocked.

"I hate you! Get out of my room! I hate you! I hate you!" He yelled again, leaned over and started to throw his toy cars in his mother´s direction.

"William stop it!" Lorelai yelled back and took the toy cars out of his hands. But the boy raged and started to hit and kick his mother.

"I hate you! I hate you!" He screamed again and again until Lorelai let go of him and fled out of his room. She heard some things crash into the door behind her and took a step back from the door, took a deep breath. She ran down the stairs into the kitchen where Luke was still cooking.

"Geez, what did you do up there? Wrestling?" Luke joked and didn´t turn around, so he was oblivious to the state his wife was in.

"I´m flying to London tomorrow morning. It doesn´t matter anymore: He already hates me!" She said and Luke spun around. He saw her biting her lower lip and her determined look.

"Have a nice trip!" was all he said before he turned to the food again.

**TBC**


	5. We´re fine

**So, to get your minds of the horrible last scene from yesterday evening, or the last horrible episodes fro that matter, here is another chapter. I hope you´ll like it!**

**Please leave a review

* * *

****Chapter 5: We´re fine**

The next morning Lorelai was on her way to the airport. Luke had refused to take her to the airport, because he feared that the kids would take it even harder if they saw their mother leave for a whole week. They had never been separated from her that long, at least not separated by miles. He wanted to keep the same routine like everyday because, as he had told her the evening before, for the daily routine of their children it wasn´t important anymore if she was there or not.

So she had left while the kids had still been asleep. She had kissed them all goodbye, without them realizing it and had lingered at William's door for some time, watching her son sleep. Her son who hated her.

* * *

She had cried a lot the night before, after she had told Luke that she would fly to London. While he had cooked she had sat on a chair in the kitchen and told him what had happened. Luke had remained silent, but had given her an I-told-you-so-look.

After that he had taken care of William, calmed him down, and even got him to tidy up his chaotic room, while Lorelai had looked after the sick twins, had fed them the soup Luke had made, had cuddled them, had given them their medicine, and had read them their bedtime story.

Especially Laila had clung to her, like she always had, but when the story had been over and Lorelai told them to go to sleep, they had both started crying, wanting their daddy.

It had been another stab in Lorelai´s heart and once again she had started crying.

* * *

She just did not have the strength to deal with all that. The last year had been too hard. The amount of work, the lack of sleep, and missing her children and her husband had put her in an emotionally drained state. All she wanted to do during the last year was spend time with her family, hold her kids close and spend time with Luke. But now, when she tried to spend time with them she had to realize that she was estranged from her daughters, her son hated her, and Luke tried to hold the family somehow together.

After the incident with the twins she had left for the Inn, had taken last preparations for the time she wouldn´t be there, and had left last orders for Michel and the staff. When she had arrived home Luke had been asleep and she had crawled into bed next to him, snuggled as close as possible and slept until the alarm-clock had rung. She had slept awful and was thankful for the breakfast Luke had made her, telling her once again, that he wasn´t okay with her flying to London, but would accept her decision.

When she arrived at the airport she parked her car, took her suitcase, and started to search for the check-in desk. When she finally found it, it was still closed, she was too early. She bought something to eat and a cup of coffee in one of the many cafes at the airport . When she checked the time she decided to call Rory, because she must still be awake.

It took some time until she finally answered and Lorelai could hear music blasting in the background.

"Geez, where the hell are you?" She asked her daughter.

"Mom? Wait I'll go outside!" Rory yelled into the phone and Lorelai heard first a door close and then the voice of her daughter again.

"I´m fine now. What´s up?"She asked.

"What´s up? Where are you?" Lorelai asked confused.

"One of Logan´s colleagues over here is celebrating his birthday. And because his flat is too small, we let him celebrate here at our apartment." Rory explained.

"Logan´s colleague? I thought you broke up!"

"Who? Me and the colleague?" Rory giggled and Lorelai realized that she was obviously drunk.

"You and Logan!" She clarified.

"No, we´re not. Why?" Rory asked and Lorelai gasped.

"I don´t know how much you remember at the moment, but I know that you called me yesterday, crying about the fact that Logan had cheated on you again and you said that you broke up and that you now need a new apartment and that I should come. I wasn´t imagining it, Rory!" Lorelai resumed their previous talk.

"Oh that! That was a stupid misunderstanding!" Rory laughed.

"A what?" Lorelai couldn´t believe it.

"I found a letter in one of Logan´s suits and thought that he had cheated on me again. I called you, obviously. But then Logan came back and explained the whole thing to me and we´re fine!"

"What did he explain to you?" Lorelai stressed the word explain.

"I really don´t want to get into that now, mom! We´re fine, that´s all that counts right?" Rory said.

"You don´t want to get into that? That whole last year Logan cheated on you repeatedly and every time you came running to mommy, especially after he left for London and I always made time for you. I neglected your siblings, hell I haven´t seen them awake in ages, and now you´re basically telling me that this is none of my business, because you two are fine again? I´m sitting here at the airport, waiting to check-in, after your brother told me he hates me, and he hates you! I decided to come to you, nonetheless and now you give me that?" Lorelai practically screamed into her cell-phone which brought her stares from the other guests at the cafe.

"Will is a little kid mom. He does not hate you and he does not hate me! He doesn´t know what he´s talking about!" Rory said lapidary.

"You did not see him! You didn´t see his eyes! And obviously you don´t care. The next time you have trouble with Logan don´t you dare call me!Call Lane, Paris, or anyone else, but not me! Luke was right! You´re 26, you have to deal with these things on your own. I don´t have time for this crap, because I somehow need to win the respect and the love of your siblings back. Because they still need me!" Lorelai said and nearly started crying again.

"Mom, what do you want me to say to that? Do what you have to do! I have to go back to the party! Kiss the others for me!" Rory slurred, hung up and Lorelai wasn´t sure if her daughter had understood a single word of their conversation or would even remember they had talked at all.

* * *

Meanwhile at home Luke had woken up the kids and had made them breakfast. Emily was already there, because she would stay with the twins at home since they weren´t feeling better.

Luke hadn´t said anything about Lorelai´s whereabouts to Emily yet and he wouldn´t bring it up if he didn´t have to. He and his mother-in-law had found a certain understanding and respect for each other over the last few years. Of course, with Emily still being Emily, it wasn´t easy and peaceful all the time; there were days when Luke nearly threw her out, but they had learned to live and to deal with each other.

"I don´t wanna take the medicine!" Sara whined, sitting on Luke´s lap, tilting her head back to get away from the spoon with the medicine.

"Sara, you have to take it so you will feel better!" Luke said calmly and held her head.

"I want mommy!" She said suddenly and Emily looked at her surprised, while she made Laila´s cocoa.

"Your mommy is not here!" Luke just said.

"But she was here yesterday night. She made spoon-airplane! I want mommy giving me the medicine!" The girl whined.

"Me too!" Laila said and started coughing afterwards.

"She is not here!" Luke said and Emily gave him an accusing glance, which was saying _'Then make her come here!'_

"Will she be here tonight? Like yesterday!" Laila asked, after she stopped coughing, her voice raspy.

"No, she won´t be here tonight," Luke said quietly. It was hard for him disappointing his children and he wished he had locked Lorelai in the house with her kids, so that she would have to deal with their disappointment.

"Why not, daddy? Please call her! I want mommy for the good night story!" Sara begged.

"It wouldn´t matter if I call her because she is sitting on a plane flying to Rory."

"To London?" Emily shrieked and nearly dropped the hot milk.

"Yes, to London!" Luke confirmed.

"Has she lost her mind? What is she doing over there?" Emily asked, but Luke just helplessly shrugged.

"Ask her when she is back!" He said.

"She is not coming back!" William suddenly said and the two adults stared at him

"Of course she is coming back, William!" Luke said.

"No! Because she likes Rory better than us. And Rory wants her to stay. And I told her that I hate her and now she hates me, too. And that´s why she won´t come back!" William said. First his lip started to quiver, then he started to cry.

Luke handed Sara to Emily and took William out of his chair.

"Your mother does not hate you William. She loves you very much."

"No, she only loves Rory!"

"William, that´s not true. But Rory has problems and your mother needs to be there for her." Luke tried to explain, although it was hard for him to get the words out and defend Lorelai.

"She´s always with Rory! She hates me! She hates me because I´m a boy!" He cried.

"Oh, Will!" Luke said. He knew that no matter what he said now, it wasn´t enough.

"I don´t want mommy to hate me! I want her to come back! I want my mommy!" The boy sobbed and it was hard to understand him.

"Will, honey, mommy is here!" Lorelai's voice could suddenly be heard. She had made her entrance unnoticed by the others and had heard every word. It broke her heart that her son had so little trust in her. He had really thought that she wouldn´t come back.

All eyes were on her and she wasn´t sure what she was supposed to do, while she still stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

**TBC**


	6. Abilities as a mother

**Chapter 6: Abilities as a mother**

For some awkward moments she just stood in the doorway, her eyes fixed on Williams tear-clouded ones. William looked at her and for some seconds she thought he would come to her. But that would have been too easy. He just buried his face on his father´s flannel covered shoulder again.

The twins, both on Emily´s arm now held their arms open for her to take them, but she just gave each one a kiss before she walked over to Luke and William.

She stroked over Williams hair, while he still refused to look at her and kneeled down beside Luke.

"William, I would never leave you! I don´t hate you. I could never hate you. You are my son, my baby-boy and I love you so much. Will, I know I´ve been an awful mother for you in the last time, but I promise you that I will change. I promise that I will have more time for you. I missed you, too during the last time. William, sweety, look at me please!" Lorelai begged and was surprised when he really lifted his head.

She took his face in her hands and wiped his tears away.

"I love you and I promise you that I will change!" she said again.

"You never keep your promises!" he whispered and sniffed. Lorelai had the urge to run again, just to get out of this situation. Or to cry and Luke would have to soothe her. But she stayed strong.

"This one I will keep. I will spend more time with you, I will be there when you wake up and I will be there when you go to sleep at night. It will be like before, okay?" William just looked t her. That was enough for Lorelai at the moment and she placed a kiss on his forehead, giving him a small smile.

"Should I walk you to school?" she asked him then.

"You are not going to Rory?" William wanted to be reassured.

"I am not going to Rory!" she gave him the reassurance. William nodded once.

"And, what do you say: Should I walk you to school?" she asked him again and hoped for him to forgive her. But again: It wasn´t that easy.

"No daddy!" William said, but stopped crying and looked questioningly at his father.

"Okay,then let´s go!" Luke said and stood up. He placed William on the floor and he ran off to put on his shoes."We will talk later, okay?" Luke asked her and gave her a kiss and a reassuring shoulder squeeze.

"Okay! I will be here the whole day and look after the twins" she told him, what made him smile.

"Really mommy?" Sara asked with her hoarse voice, but still sounded excited.

"Yes, really, my baby!" Lorelai laughed at the excitement of her daughter, but was touched at the same time. She took them both from her mother.

"God, you two are heavy! Put on one more kilo and I will crumble to the floor!" Lorelai joked, but felt lighter than ever. She had a whole week with her kids in front of her. She would have time for them. For them and for Luke. They would need some time to themselves also. But her main focus would lye on William, because the situation as it was, broke her heart.

The girls laughed at Lorelai´s joke, but then had to cough again.

"Oh my poor babies! Did you already take your medicine?" she asked them and they both shook their head no.

Luke just smiled at the scene. This was the way it was supposed to be, Lorelai was home and had time for them, finally. He walked over to where she stood and gave her another kiss, just because he could, just because she was there.

"They want the spoon-airplane for their medicine!" Luke explained to her.

"Ah, good choice! I think the departure will be very soon! You´re ready?" she asked them and gave Luke another kiss. The girls nodded.

"Mommy, look, I tied my shoe laces all by myself!" William said, still shyly, as if Lorelai could walk away again every second.

"William you know how to do that since one and a half years!" Luke said, still smiling.

"Oh shush you! He could have slipped on his sneakers, they have no laces! But he didn´t and chose the ones with laces, which is a great thing!" Lorelai said and winked at William. He gave her a shy smile.

"Can we go?" Luke asked William.

"Yes!" he said and walked over to Emily.

"Bye grandma!" he said and she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye William! Have a nice day!" she said. William then stood there and had the same look on his face like yesterday: He was thinking about what to do. His forehead was wrinkled, his head slightly tilted to one side, he bit on his upper lip.

For Lorelai it was like the time stood still. He just looked at her and she could hear the wheels turning in his head. Slowly he walked towards her and then held out his right hand. She had to smile at the gesture, set the twins on the floor, took his hand and shook it.

"Bye mommy, have a nice day!" he repeated his grandmothers sentence.

"Bye sweety. See you later!" she told him and stroked over his brown hair again before he and Luke left.

* * *

"Mommy!" the twins started to whine as soon as their father was out of sight.

"What? I think you should take your medicine now, huh? Otherwise the spoon-plane will be flown away and you will stay sick!" Lorelai told them.

"But the spoon-plane isn´t real!" Sara said.

"No? Oh my god, I thought it was!" Lorelai said and faked surprise.

"Take your medicine now, your cocoa is getting cold!" Emily said and by the way she looked at Lorelai, it was clear, that she had some things to say to her daughter.

Lorelai took the twins and gave them both their medicine and they took it without complaining. She used the time during breakfast to catch up on the stories her daughters had to tell.

* * *

Afterwards she lay them down on the couch in the living-room, turned on Willy Wonka for them. Before she walked back into the kitchen she covered them both with a blanket.

"Mommy, where are you going?" Laila asked and sat up when Lorelai wanted to leave the room.

"Into the kitchen, princess" she said and smiled.

"Not to the Inn?" Laila wanted to know.

"No, I´m not going to the Inn." Lorelai confirmed.

"And not to London?" Sara also sat up.

"No and not to London. I´m staying here with you the whole day. Is that good?"

"Yeah!" Sara smiled and lay back down.

"Mommy?" Laila wasn´t finished.

"Yes princess?"

"Kiss?" she asked shyly. Lorelai walked over to her and kissed her, first on the mouth, then on her forehead. She also gave Sara a kiss before she walked back into the kitchen.

* * *

In the kitchen Emily was already waiting for her.

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, have you completely lost your mind?" she fumed.

"My last name is Danes mom!" Lorelai pointed out.

"It doesn´t matter if your last name is Gilmore, Danes or Weasley as long as you are my daughter and neglecting my grandchildren by running of to London to hold the hand of your twenty-six year old daughter! What were you thinking?" Emily asked.

"I thought that Rory needed me. And she is your grandchild, too! I thought that Luke could look after the kids, because it didn´t matter anymore if I was sitting a whole week at the Inn or flying to London. Where´s the difference?"

"If you can not see it, then I will certainly not point it out for you! Don´t you ever dare to judge my abilities as a mother again after what you did to your children over the last year!" Emily said and it was hard for her to keep her voice down, so that the twins wouldn´t hear every word.

"I failed, I know that. I failed completely as a mother. There is no need to rub my nose in it after my five year old son told me that he hates me and threw me out of his room!" Lorelai said louder than intended and rubbed the tears away, which, beside her efforts, had spilled.

"Well you were three when you first said it, so it took him two years longer. Not pleasant, isn´t it?"Emily said.

"Not pleasant? It broke my heart mom!I want my kids to love me as much as I love them. This is my worst nightmare! I did this to him!I made my own son hate me and I am devastated. I can not stand it when they are looking at me and I all I can see in their eyes in mistrust. The twins were afraid that I might leave them in the living-room and run off to the hotel, because that´s what I did the whole last year. They hate me, they all hate me!" Lorelai said and wiped away some more tears.

"They don´t hate you! They just miss you and William being William, which means he is like you when it comes to those things, wanted to pay you back. Wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt him when you pushed him away."

"Why didn´t you tell me?"

"Why didn´t we tell you what?"

"What a bad mother I am! You and Luke should have stopped me. You should have locked me in and talked some sense into me. It would have never gone this far." she said, suddenly angry at her mother and her husband.

"Oh please, Lorelai! I´m surely not the person you would have listened to when it comes to your children. And Luke tried. We got into a fight over it about three months ago. He told me that he tried, but that you are too tired to listen, doing bills while he was talking, just leaving midst talk because the phone rang. You did this, Lorelai, not him. He was here, every day, he called me and asked me for help when he couldn´t take the kids with him to the diner because he was busy or the kids were sick. He never complained about it to me, but I could see that it exhausted him. He had to hire extra help at the Diner to get all the work done somehow. Don´t blame him for your failure!" Emily told her harshly. Lorelai smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"I never thought I would hear you defending Luke some day!" she said.

"He is a good man and an amazing father" Emily shrugged.

"I know. He is the best. Thanks mom for being here and looking after the kids."

"It´s okay. But you really have to think about your priorities Lorelai. Don´t make the same mistakes we did!"

"Oh, I thought about them! It had never been clearer than this morning after the call that my priorities are mixed-up.

"Which call are you talking about?" Emily wanted to know and they both sat down on the chairs ion front of the counter in the kitchen.

"I called Rory this morning to tell her when I would arrive in London. She was at a party and pretty drunk. She had no idea that she called me yesterday and begged me to come and be there for her. She was a mess and I promised her to come. So I call her this morning and she has no idea and tells me that everything was just a misunderstanding and she and Logan are fine, no need for me to come. She didn´t even call me yesterday to tell me that the reconciled! She went to party with her friends and just didn´t care that I was worried, booked a fight, whatever." Lorelai vented.

"She is grown-up. She is an adult now. And she is used to the fact that you always come running to her rescue. Lorelai, it might be good for the two of you that Rory is in London now. It will get you some distance. And if she really needs you, she will come back. As long as she is not standing in front of your door asking for help, it can´t be that bad. Logan will cheat on her again. We both know that. And as long as these two won´t break up for good, she will call again, she will be devastated, but then they will reconcile and you are not needed anymore."

"You´re right. I know that now. I just have to deal with the consequences of my behaviour during the last year and hope that it´s not too late." Lorelai sighed.

"It´s not too late. There is no such thing, I think we two proved that!" Emily smiled. They were both quiet for some time.

"I never hated you mom" Lorelai said then.

"Good" was all Emily said, but gave Lorelai´s hand a squeeze.

"I think I go and check on the twins. Are you staying?" Lorelai asked her then.

"No, I think I will go home and give you some time alone with your children. Are you going to stay home this whole week?"

"I think so. I got the Inn covered, so no need for me to go over."

"Luke told me that he took a break from the diner also to distract the children while you are away. Since you both are home now for the week and the twins are sick and can´t go to kindergarten anyway,why don´t you go away for some time? You could use the house we bought at Martha´s Vineyard?" Emily proposed.

"I would like that. I will talk with Luke about it and call you!"

"I will hear from you then. Goodbye Lorelai!" Emily smiled.

"Bye Mom and thanks again!" Lorelai smiled back at her mother and went back into the living-room.

**TBC**


	7. Mr Magic Eyes

**Chapter 7: Mr. Magic-eyes**

When Luke came back some time later he found Lorelai and the twins upstairs in their bedroom. The girls were lying on both sides of Lorelai while she read to them.

"Hey you!" Lorelai smiled when she saw him standing in the doorway watching them.

"Hey you three. What are you reading?" Luke asked and sat down on the bed.

"Cinderella. They told me you started it a few days ago, so I thought I would read this." Lorelai explained. She looked to her side and realized for the first time, that the girls were asleep again.

"Huh, I´m reading and they are sleeping. Just wait girls, when you wake up." She said and kissed them both before she stood up, took Luke´s hand and lead him out of the room.

She slid her arms around his waist when they stood outside and gave him some quick kisses.

"Can we go downstairs and talk?" She asked then. Luke nodded and followed her down the stairs. They sat down on the couch where the blanket still lay.

"Luke, before you say something: Im sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I know that I´ve been a horrible mother and wife this past year and I really wish I could turn back the time and do everything different, but I can´t. I called Rory this morning at the airport and told her that I was coming over, like she asked me to. She was at a party and drunk, and had no idea what I was talking about. She and Logan made up. Again. You were right: She does not need me anymore, at least not as much as I thought." She told him quickly, just to get it all out.

"So you´re not here because you realized that the kids need you, but because Rory didn´t want you to come." Luke summed it up and was clearly hurt.

"No, no Luke it´s not like that. I could have flown to her, I'm sure this peace won´t last long. I realized when I talked to this drunk young woman, that she isn´t a little girl anymore, she sometimes wants to be and I want her to be. She is not. And we have three little kids here. I know that you think that I don´t love them as much as I love Rory, but that´s not true. I just... I don´t know... thought that you are here. That they don´t need me because you are always there for them. Somehow I thought that it is enough when you are there, because Rory only had one parent, so why should it harm these three if I didn´t have that much time for them? But that was so stupid and selfish and I risked my family and lost the trust of my children because of my stupidity. Please, Luke, forgive me?" She asked.

"Of course I do. This one time, but don´t let it happen again. William really took it very hard and Sara and Laila were miserable. It hurt me to always tell them that you would not come, that you wouldn´t be there. They were so disappointed and sometimes I just failed. I yelled at them, because I missed you too. I took my bad mood out on them and that´s also why Will ran away at the mall. I am not a good single parent. I can´t do this! I need you to help me, to show me how to do it." He said and she took his hand.

"Luke, you have no idea what an amazing father you are. Even my mother says that you are!" She said and smiled.

"You talked about me with your mother?" He asked surprised.

"Not only about you. She told me some things, gave me the final push, so to say. And she made a very nice offer."

"What offer?" Luke asked.

"She said that if we want we could go to their house at Martha´s Vineyard if we like. We both took the week off, the twins are sick and can´t go to kindergarten and Will is bored at pre-school anyway. What do you think?"

"I think it´s a good idea. It´s warm there this time of year and we would have time only for us and the kids. Let´s do it, let´s go to the Vineyard!" Luke said and pulled her to him for a long kiss.

* * *

At noon, the twins were asleep again after taking the medicine, so Luke and Lorelai decided to pick up William together from pre-school.

When they arrived William was already waiting.

"Hey sweety, you´re already ready to go?" Lorelai laughed when she saw William standing in the entrance with his bag.

"Yeah let´s go!" William yelled exited and wanted to rush outside, but Luke held him back.  
"Hey hey hey, we have to talk to your teacher and you will wait!" He told him.

"Mr. Danes, hello! See William now you can go home. He was asking the whole day if it was time to go back home!" The teacher said and shook hands with Luke.

"Hello, I´m Lorelai Danes, I am William's mother!" Lorelai introduced herself to the woman.

"Oh, we already heard a lot about you. Nice to finally meet you." The teacher said with a fake smile before she turned her attention back to Luke.

"William's behavior was a lot better today. Besides his constant asking when he would be allowed to go home, he was like a completely different child. You were really nice today Willi!" The woman smiled and stroked over William's head. William stepped back and hid behind his mother's legs.

"Don´t call me Willi!" He mumbled. The teacher did not hear him, but Lorelai did and laughed, which brought her a confused stare from the other woman.

"That´s nice to know. But actually we are here to inform you that we will be on a trip for a week which means, that Will won´t be able to come. I hope this is okay." Luke told her.

"Of course, no problem! Have a nice trip with your daddy, Willi!" She smiled at the boy, then at Luke.

"Well, no men-only trips this time. His sisters and I will join them!" Lorelai told her.

"Oh how nice!" The fake smile was back.

"We should go! We still have a lot of packing to do." Luke said and the adults shook hand again.

When they walked outside arm in arm with William bouncing in front of them, Lorelai slipped her right hand in Luke´s right back-pocket of his jeans. Luke looked at her confused and she gave him a kiss. When they were outside and a few meters away from the pre-school Lorelai took her hand out of his back-pocket and slapped his chest with it.

"Oh my god! She was so checking you out! No wonder you always have to go there and talk with her about William! She so flirted with you!" Lorelai teased him with a smile.

"She did not flirt with me!" Luke said sternly.

"Of course she did! She was hitting on you right in front of me! She undressed you with her eyes and did you in her mind!" Lorelai said.

"Ah geez, she did not!" Luke argued with her.

"Hey Will, honey! Did this teacher of yours ever say something to you about your daddy?" She asked her son and wiped some color off his cheek.

"No. But she told the other teacher that she thinks daddy is hot and has magic eyes. But don´t worry mommy, she is nuts! She calls me Willi!" William said, opened his mouth, stuck in a finger and made a gagging sound.

Lorelai laughed, while Luke took his son's arm and pulled the finger out of his mouth with a disapproving look.

"How often did I tell you not to do that?" He asked his son, who just rolled his eyes.

"Well, he is right Mr. Magic- eyes, it was disgusting how she drooled over you. And why does she call our son Willi? No one ever called him Willi! He is not a bee and his friend´s name isn´t Maja!"

"What?" Luke had no clue what she was talking about.

"Watch more cartoons daddy!" William told him and smiled at his mother, before he let her take his hand, at which he bounced home.

* * *

"Mommy can we swim there?" Sara wanted to know.

"Yes, but first you have to be healthy."

"Daddy will you swim, too?" William asked.

"Maybe, we´ll see." Luke shrugged while he put the suitcases in the back of the car.

"Lorelai, you told Kirsten to look after the guinea-pigs?" Luke asked her.

"Yes, and I called my mother and my father, I think they will get too much food! Everybody ready for take off?" she asked her children, who already sat in the back- seat in their car-seats.

"Yeah!" All three shouted, or tried at least, because the girls' voices were still hoarse.

Both Luke and Lorelai knew that it wouldn´t take them long to fall asleep again and William had enough to do with several Winnie the Pooh books.

Luke started the car and Lorelai gave his thigh a squeeze before they drove off to the Vineyard.

**TBC**


	8. Fishy Rockstar

**Okay, I don´t wanna make you wait any longer, but I have to tell you, that this is the first un-betaed chapter**, because I can´t reach my beta. So I am sorry for the faults which surely are in there!

**Rachel**, if you read this: Damn, get a new emailadress and then tell me (pretty please on my knees and begging ). I have chapter 12 lying around and can´t contact you...it´s driving me nuts!

Also someone (sorry I´m really bad with names!) told me that preschool comes before kindergarten in the USA. So sorry that I mixed that up, but I have to tell you, that system is nuts! I mean kindergarten includes the word "kinder", which means children, without any clue how old said children are. But pre-school, the word says it, means that it comes pre (before) school. Here comes kindergarten (mostly with 3 years, sometimes earlier) and then a year before school comes pre-school( not a must) and then comes school (at 6). But I changed that in the chapters to come, so don´t wonder why the twins and Will suddenly changed their spots. And thanks for telling me!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Fishy Rockstar**

"Wow, kiddos look, such nice weather here!" Lorelai said excitedly when they arrived. She wondered why she got no answer and turned towards the back-seats: All three kids were asleep.

"Look at our lazy kids!" she said to Luke and smiled.

"Well they are sick. And lazy. Wonder where they got it from!" he smiled back, before he got out of the car and walked towards the entry of the house. Lorelai caught up to him and slipped her hand in his.

"How am I going to open the door now?" he asked and gestured with his chin to his hands. In one he held the first bag, in the other now Lorelai´s hand.

"Don´t be grumpy, honey! I know a solution for everything." she smiled sweetly at him, stuck her hand in his pocket, grabbed the key and unlocked the door.

"See, I am clever, Mr. Grumpy" she laughed.

"Everybody would be grumpy after hours in a car with you," he said while they walked inside.

"Hey! I was behaving perfectly fine" she pouted.

"Uhuh, flipping from one radio-station to the next, then torturing me with your Metallica CDs, needing 6 coffee-breaks and three more stops for the bathroom and finally you were reading out loud a Cosmo article in Kermit- voice. I don´t wanna know what behaving badly would mean" he told her.

"Well, maybe you´ll find out once we´ll bealone in a car for that long!" she said and tried to sound extra naughty.

"Dirty" Luke said.

"Come on, admit it! You love it and we both know it" she laughed and bounced sideways in front of him.

"No, I don´t." he argued with her, although he knew this would culminate in another nonsense conversation.

* * *

After they had checked out the house, decided on who would take which room and put an end to the "yes, you do"-"no, I don´t"- discussion, they went back outside to the car to take out the kids and the rest of the bags. 

First they placed the kids together on the big bed in the main bedroom, so they wouldn´t be alone and get scared when they would wake up and then they got the rest of the baggage.

"I thought we came here for a week, obviously I missed the fact that we moved here" Luke remarked sarcastically after he brought the last suitcase into the house.

"Oh, shut up you. You have three girls here and we need to be pretty" she told him before she walked outside in the backyard to find the pool.

"Then be pretty while carrying your stuff yourself the next time" he grumped, but walked over to where she stood and slid his arms around her waist from behind. She was standingon the terraceand looked down on the sea.

"It´s beautiful here", she said with a dreamy expression.

"You´re beautiful" he whispered and placed a kiss on her cheek. She lay her hands on top of his and, while staring straight ahead on the sea and with a serious expression, she asked

"We will work through this. You and the kids will trust me gain and Will won´t hate me any longer, right?"

"Will never hated you"

"Right? We will be able to..." Luke interrupted her.

"Of course we will, don´t worry." he told her. They stood outside in comfortable silence for some more minutes, until they heard Laila´s cries for her parents, followed by Sara´s coughing.

* * *

After dinner, while it was still warm outside, they decided to go for a walk on the beach, taking the kids with them. Luke and Lorelai walked along the beach with their arms around each others waist. William, Sara and Laila were skipping ahead, searching for shells. Luke held their shoes in one hand, while Lorelai held her own pair in her free hand. 

"Mommy, daddy, look!" Sara yelled excitedly and showed them a little crab she had found.

"Better you put it back down before it will pinch you" said Luke

"But it´s cute. I want it to be my pet." Sara insisted.

"And what´s his name? Or is it a girl?" Lorelai asked and winked at Luke.

"It´s a he and his name is Luke" the girl smiled. By the way she smiled and the devilish glint in her eyes, which reminded him even more of Lorelai, Luke knew there would be an explanation for it.

"You named him after your father? Why?" Lorelai wanted to know.

"Because he looks like daddy and daddy is always in a crappy mood." the girl giggled and looked at Lorelai who burst out laughing.

"Oh wait, you monster!" Luke laughed, crabbed the girl and ran with her into the sea. The water was only reaching his ankles, but Sara laughed and screamed.

"I think you need to dive to learn the difference between your father and strange looking sea-animals."

"No, daddy, I can´t swim" Sara screeched. Luke held her so that only her feet dove into the water and she struggled so that the water was splashing around those two. William, who saw the splashing water, ran to them and made them even wetter.

When they started splashing the water to Laila, she ran to her mother and hid behind her. Within seconds Lorelai was wet and the rest was laughing about her, because of her tirade directedto Luke, about her hair, her make-up and clothes. But then she had to laugh herself, picked up Laila and hugged her tight, so that the girl got equally wet.

* * *

Back at the house Lorelai stopped the others when they wanted to enter. 

"You three can´t seriously believe that I will let you in like that!"

"Why?" William wanted to know.

"Because you are dripping wet and all fishy"

"Fishy? That´s not a word" Luke laughed.

"And you are wet, too!" Sara pointed out.

"But we don´t smell like fish. Undress!" Lorelai laughed and ordered.

"Here? Are you crazy?" Luke asked her.

"Why, sexy Lukey, scared somebody might see your goods? Don´t worry nobody´s around" Lorelai grinned and pulled at his shirt, pulling it over his head and patting his chest.

"Mommy, am I sexy too?" William wanted to know. Luke wanted to say something, but Lorelai stopped him.

"You are awfully sexy my baby-boy. I am sure the girls will go crazy in ten years" she smiled and helped him out of his wet shirt and shorts, while Luke helped Sara.

"I think you all need a bath." Lorelai told them after she had sniffed at them.

"Sara, Laila I will bath you first and Will do you want to shower or take a bath with me?" Luke decided.

"I wanna bath with you" William said.

"Okay, then come here girls." Luke said to his daughters. He was used to be in charge and so Lorelai´s offer surprised him at first.

"Why don´t you two get your clothes and do some male bonding while I am bathing these two?" she proposed.

"Okay" Luke said slowly, but smiled when he realized that this was also a step in the right direction.

* * *

"Nooo, mommy! I don´t wanna!" Sara cried, while Laila was still brushing her teeth. 

"Sara, we need to comb your hair now, otherwise there will be knots in it tomorrow when it´ll be dry and we can´t go through it anymore and have to cut it!" Lorelai argued with her. She had already had the same fight with Laila minutes before. The girls were sick and tired which made them whiny.

"Nooo, it hurts!" Sara cried. She was standing between Lorelai´s legs, while Lorelai sat on the closed toilet.

"I am extra careful, baby" she reassured her daughter and let the comb glide through the wet curls of her daughter.

Sara was still crying when she finished and Laila had started again, because her nose was clogged. Lorelai scooped them both up in her arms, and although they werepretty heavy, carried them in their bedroom. She gave them their medicine before she lay down on Sara´s bed with them and held them until they fell asleep.

She loved those moments when they were asleep after a bath and would cuddle up to her. Their hair smelled like the baby-shampoo she used and she would breathe them in every time. She had done that since the day they were born and over the years these moments got rare. They were growing up so fast and she had less time for time for them.

With Rory she had done that for a very long time, sometimes she would still breath her in when they hugged, although she wasn´t smelling like the baby-shampoo anymore.

With William she had stopped that a long time ago. When she had found him sleeping on the floor a few days before it had been the first time in years. She didn´t know why. She didn´t understand why it had come that far. She only knew that she had to fix it.

She untangled from the twins, placed Laila on her bed and kissed them both good-night, before she walked into the bathroom once more, where Luke and William were sitting in the bathtub now.

* * *

"Wow, two sexy men in a tub, must be my lucky day!" she grinned. Both of them just rolled with their eyes, what caused her to laugh. 

"Are the twins asleep?" Luke asked when she had calmed down and kneeled next to the tub.

"Yep, they were really tired".

"I know. I could hear their whining in the bedroom".

"And you didn´t come to rescue me?" she pretended shock.

"Nah, didn´t feel like it. What was is this time? The hair-washing or the combing?" Luke grinned.

"Both! Nooo, mommy, the shampoo hurts my eyes, wooohooo, mommy, don´t! The water is too hot. No, now it´s too cold! Don´t comb my hair! You´re hurting me! Woooohooo" she imitated the twins.

"Girls!" William huffed.

"Hey you, Mr. Hero, I don´t see any water in your hair until now", Lorelai teased him.

"I can do that alone, mommy" he declared.

"Ha, I don´t believe you. You´re just bragging" Lorelai said and winked at Luke. William gave her a pointed look, dove down to make his hair wet, came back up, took the shampoo, rubbed it in his hair and dove down again.

"See" he said proudly and wiped the water out of his eyes.

"Such a big boy. But you still have all that foam in your hair, hon´." Lorelai giggled. She let both of her hands glide into his hair and combed it to one side.

"Now you look like the king" she laughed.

"The King?" William asked her.

"Oh my god, what did your father teach you? The king: Elvis Presley. No more Bellamy Brothers for you two!" she said.

" I am not listening to that!" Luke argued with her.

"Reggae Fever"

"Duran Duran"

"Jimmy Buffet"

"All 4 one"

"Johnny Cash"

"Barry Manilow"

"Now it´s getting ugly!" Lorelai laughed and splashed some water into Luke´s face. Then she resumed playing with Williams hair. She pulled it up in the middle.

"Now you´re looking like a real rock-star!" she told him.

"Yay! But which one?" William asked.

"Mmmh, let´s see" Lorelai said and bend her head to one side.

"Nick Carter?" she laughed then.

"Since when is Nick Carter a rock star and in which way does Will look like him?" Luke asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, he is blond and has blue eyes" Lorelai was still laughing.

"How do you knowwhat this guy looks like? I thought you hated boybands?"

"Boygroups, Luke, boygroups. And where do you know from, that he is in one?" she shot back.

"You did not answer my question!"

"Neither did you! Confess!" Lorelai said. William started to giggle.

"What?" they asked both at the same time

"You are funny", he laughed.

"Are you laughing about your beloved parents? Your rockstar time is so over!" Lorelai said grinning and ruffled through his hair. Then she took the spray and rinsed out his hair, while he held his head back.

"Come on Poseidon, let´s get you out of the water" she said then to William, grabbed a large towel and held it open for him. William stood up and she wrapped him in the towel and lifted him out of the tub and into her arms. She hugged him tight and for some seconds William relaxed in her arms.

"Mommy, put me down!" he told her then and wriggled to get away from her. She was disappointed and hurt, but put him down and tried to smile. Luke gave her a reassuring smile and also got out of the tub.

While he dressed himself for the night, Lorelai creamed William, helped him dress and dried his hair. When she was finished William yawned, walked to Luke and held his arms up. Luke took him and William lay his head on his shoulder, already asleep.

"I put him to bed. You take a shower and we meet in the bedroom?" Luke asked her.

"I´m coming with you. I promised I would be there when he goes to bed."

"He´s already asleep and you are here." Luke told her. She sighed and kissed William on the head, buried her nose in his hair for a moment. Luke then put William in his bed and Lorelai took a shower.

* * *

When she came into the bedroom,dressed in a black, short and silky night-gown, Luke was already lying in bed reading some sports-magazine. 

She stopped and watched him lovingly.

"Stop staring at me and come to bed woman" Luke said after some seconds, without looking up.

She laughed, closed the door behind her, then walked over to him, straddled his lap and threw the magazine on the floor.

"Hey, I was reading that!" Luke complained, but his hands were already settled on her hips, stroking her hipbones with his thumbs. For some moments, which were like hours for both of them, they just sat there staring and grinning at each other. Then Lorelai leaned over and slowly her face neared his.

Her lips brushed softly against his, one time, two times, then a third time, before she deepened the kiss. Luke´s hands moved away from her hips and one went to the back of her head and tangled in her hair, while the other lay on her back, pressing her tightly against him.

Their tongues played with each other, causing them both to moan. She nibbled on his lower-lip and his right hand found it´s way from her back under the night-gown, causing her to moan once again.

When they had to break the kiss from the lack of air, she pressed her forehead against his and smiled.

"This is crazy" she whispered and shook her head.

"What?" he wanted to know, while his hand was still gliding over her skin.

"We are married for nearly six years, have been together for eight and you´re still driving me crazy with a simple touch." she told him.

"Right back at ya!" Luke grinned, rolled them over so that he was on top of her and kissed her passionately.

Lorelai pulled Luke´s shirt up and over his head, then pressed her lips against his bare chest. Luke pulled the straps of her nightgown down and placed kisses on her collarbone,then slowly moved south, pulling her gown down with him. Lorelai gasped when she felt his hand on her breast, placed one hand on the back of his head and pressed him tightly against her skin.

"Daddy!" Sara´s sniffing could be heard a second later and the two jumped apart. Lorelai pulled her gown up, covering her breasts, and Luke was fire-red in his face.

"Sara, god, what are you doing in here?" Lorelai asked breathlessly.

"I am sick and Laila threw up on her bed." the girl cried and started to gag a second later. Lorelai jumped out of the bed, took the girl and ran with her into the bathroom, just in time.

Luke appeared in the doorway, moments later, with his shirt on.

"You got it covered? I go change Laila and the sheets" he said.

"I got it" she told him and stroked over her daughters curls while she held her up over the toilet.

* * *

Sara was exhausted from the vomiting and feel asleep in Lorelai´s arms. She was still sitting with her daughter on the bathroom floor when Luke came in with the sniffing Laila, who was only dressed in her panties. 

Luke gave her some water to rinse her mouth, after she had thrown up one more time, this time in the toilet, though.

Lorelai lay Sara in their bed and got another pajama for Laila. She took the sheets and the dirty nightgown with her and threw it int washing-machine on her way back.

Laila was asleep on top of Luke in their bed when she arrived and she dressed her carefully.

They placed the girls in the middle of their bed, then looked at each other.

"I think that was our night of passion", Lorelai smiled sadly.

"There are six more nights left!" Luke smiled.

"And six more days!" Lorelai grinned and gave him one last kiss before she lay down and switched off the lights.

**TBC**

**Hope you liked it and leave a review. Or you don´t like it, then leave a review, too!**


	9. One more

**Okay because I am so happy about your reviews (for chapter 7 I barely got any and was really depressed and thought I might have to end the story) and because I finally reached my beta (thank you again, so much! Ah and I already changed that music-thng in ch8, but not in the version I send you, sorry!) I will give you the next chapter already... and I hope I´ll be rewarded (with reviews!)**

**ah and concerning the chair story (the person knows it) I had to laugh so hard! And if i could I would give you a new one, just for making me laugh so hard!

* * *

****Chapter 9: One more**

"Good morning, sweeties. You´re feeling better?" Lorelai asked the twins when they made their appearance at breakfast. It had been a long night for the four of them because Laila had thrown up two more times. But now they weren´t pale anymore and just looked a bit tired.

The both nodded as an answer to Lorelai's question.

"Sara, would you come here, your nightgown is stuck in your panties." Lorelai laughed and held out one hand towards her daughter.

"I am not Sara, I am Laila." The girl said with a duh-tone.

"That´s not true and now come over here." Lorelai smiled.

"Mommy, I am Sara!" The other girl said and stood beside her sister. Lorelai shot a puzzled look at Luke, silently asking him with her eyes if she had lost her mind. Luke just laughed.

"Okay, you two. You might have changed your pajamas, but you don't look that much alike, that I can't tell you apart. You would have to change your hair and get a face-operation. And now you, with the dark brown curls and my eyes, get your cute little butt over here!" She said and laughed, while Sara took her hand and muttered,

"Damn. How does she know who I am!"

"Because I am your mother, who birthed you and breastfed you, my little clone." Lorelai told her and pulled the shirt out of her panties.

"Eeew, mommy!" William protested and made a disgusted face.

"You better be quiet! I even nursed you when I was pregnant with your sisters and let me tell you it was not at all pleasant." Lorelai told William and ruffled through his hair with one hand, which caused him to press his hands on his head to keep his hair from sticking out.

"Daddy, why do you and mommy always know that I am Laila?"

"And that I am Sara?" The twins asked and sat down on their chairs.

"You are not identical twins, everybody can tell you apart." Luke said.

"Kirk can´t." Laila said and shook her head.

"Kirk is a crazy fool!" William mumbled.

"William Jeremy Danes I don´t want you to speak in such a tone about our neighbors." Lorelai scolded.

"But Daddy said it first!" William argued.

"Daddy also said that he will strangle Taylor with his ugly grey vest one day." Laila recited.

"Yeah, ´cause he is an annoying idiot who organizes festivals and pesters everyone." Sara finished and all three giggled.

"My my Mr. Danes I think it´s good that I am back because I´ m shocked by the way our kids talk. How could you say such things in front of them?" She asked but smiled.

"They were in the diner a lot and maybe I freaked out one or two times." Luke confessed and looked ashamed at his plate.

"Shame on you Luke for saying such things!" Lorelai said still smiling and gave his hand a squeeze so that he looked up and saw her smiling face. He squeezed her hand right back before he took the jam out of Sara´s hands because she had one finger in it and was eating the jam that way.

"Stop that and go and wash your hands and face, then you can have toast with jam." Luke scolded this time.

"But I don´t want toast. I only want jam." Sara said and tried to take the jam out of Luke´s hand, but he held it back.

"No way! And now bathroom!" He told her.

"But that´s not fair! Mommy always eats the jam like this!"

"Not true!" Lorelai shot back.

"Too!"

"No!"

"Too!"

"Stop it!" Luke interrupted their arguing.

"But it is true! Mommy takes a spoon and eats the jam out of the jar." Sara pouted.

"Fink!" Lorelai hissed at Sara and took the jam out of Luke´s hand, dipped one finger in and licked the jam off.

"Mmmmh, my Lukey don´t be mad! I know you like it, you know you like it." She grinned seductively and sucked one last time on her finger. The kids looked at her like she had lost her mind and Luke needed a second to snap out of the daze she had put him in with her little demonstration.

"Bathroom! Both of you!" He said and pointed in the direction of the bathroom.

"Man!" Sara huffed and Lorelai threw Luke a playful glare, scooped up Sara in her arms, and went into the bathroom with her. William, Laila, and Luke started laughing once they were out of sight.

"We can hear you, you traitors! You three are no longer knights of the order of Willy Wonka." Lorelai yelled from the bathroom.

"Crazy Lady." Luke muttered which caused the two kids to laugh even more.

* * *

It was afternoon and the whole family was gathered around the large pool. Laila lay on a deckchair, listening to some music, and was nearly asleep, while Sara and William played with his cars and her dolls, Luke was dozing on a deckchair with his cap lying over his face, and Lorelai was swimming in the pool. She had the air mattress with her and laid on it when she wasn´t in the mood for sporty activities anymore.

When it got very quiet she looked up and saw that Sara and William were tiptoeing in Luke´s direction. She smiled and lay back down, knowing what would come.

"Ah jeez, give me my cap back!" She heard Luke´s voice seconds later and smiled. These were so her kids.

William and Sara just laughed and ran away. Luke grumbled something, but lay back down and closed his eyes again.

It didn´t take long for Sara and William to argue over the cap. In the end William pulled the cap out of Sara´s hands and ran. Sara followed him, screaming that he should give her the cap. William only laughed and neither Luke nor Lorelai interfered. Both kept their eyes shut and were oblivious to what was happening.

* * *

While they ran around the pool Sara and William got closer and closer to the edge of it. While Sara was wearing shoes, William wasn´t. He was just laughing and teasing his sister when he slipped and fell head first in the pool. His face hit the water hard. It hurt and for some seconds he couldn´t see anymore. Everything was black around him.

Immediately he was under water, and had no orientation to where the ground and the air was. He couldn´t swim and he panicked. He struggled, fought against the water, kicking with his legs in all directions. He felt that oxygen was getting rare and panicked and fought even more. He had to cough, but couldn´t, and swallowed more water. The chlorine in the water stung in his eyes and he swallowed more water. He shut his eyes tight.

Then suddenly he felt an arm around his chest and was pulled in one direction.

* * *

Lorelai had heard and felt the splash, her air mattress was shaking. She sat up and saw the cap on the water and Sara on the edge of the pool. She scanned the water with her eyes, while Luke had jumped up and pulled Sara back from the edge of the pool.

Lorelai dove in the water and swam in the direction where Sara was standing. She couldn´t remember ever having swam so fast. Luke pressed Sara against him and also searched the pool with his eyes.

But Lorelai had already found him. She tried to grab William's arm but he was wet and slippery and it took four tries until she finally got a hold of him.

All that had only taken seconds, but for all of them it seemed like hours.

* * *

William was pulled up and the first thing he saw was the face of his mother, looking panicked and concerned. He started coughing and she held him tight while she swam to the end of the pool where she could stand. He spit out some water and started to cry hysterically and loud. Lorelai pulled him against her, turning him around, and hugged him tight. He slung his arms around her neck and his legs around her her waist and clung to her. He cried, sobbed, and coughed all at once.

"God, Lorelai is he okay?" Luke yelled from the side of the pool.

"Yeah, yeah, he is... he is fine I guess!" She yelled back and hugged William a little tighter, if that was possible. Although she was completely freaked out, trembling, and upset, she tried to calm him. She rubbed over his back with one hand, the other lay on his head and pressed him to her shoulder, where he had buried his face.

"Sshh, honey it´s okay. I´m here. Shhh, William it´s over. I have you and I will not let you go. Oh my baby! Calm down honey and breathe." While she talked soothingly with him she climbed up the few steps and walked out of the pool, William safe in her arms.

She sat down on one of the deckchairs, William in her lap. She tried to pull back to be able to take a closer look at him and see if he was really okay, but he held her even tighter.

"No mommy! Don´t go! Mommy." He cried panicked.

"I am not going anywhere, angel. But let me take a look at you so that I know you´re okay." She whispered and pressed her lips against his dripping hair several times.

"Noooo." He cried and coughed once more, his face still buried in her shoulder.

"Hon, calm down. Everything is all right. It´s all right." She whispered and lay down in the chair, William still in the same position.

Luke meanwhile had calmed Sara and sat down next to Lorelai and William for a few minutes to place some kisses on his son´s head and whisper soothing words to both of them, because he knew that while Lorelai was calm on the outside, she was just as upset as William on the inside.

* * *

William had calmed down after nearly half an hour and was still lying in the same position on top of Lorelai. Sobs shook his body from time to time but he was listening intently to his mother.

"And then with a big push, I pushed you out of me and there you were. All wrinkly and wet, just like right now. But your daddy got to see and hold you first and I know you won´t believe me, but he cried. Your daddy cried when he saw you for the first time, because he was so happy. And me too. He lay you on my chest and we were both crying because our baby boy was finally here and healthy. We did not know then if you were a boy or a girl because you were teasing us even then and played hide and seek with us. I won. I saw that I had a son when your daddy lay you on my chest. You had been screaming so loud, but then you calmed down and looked at us with your beautiful blue eyes. I don't think I ever kissed anyone as often as I kissed you that day, because you were so cute and you were mine. You look like your daddy, but you were inside of me. And now look at you, you are such a big boy and wouldn´t fit in my belly anymore." Lorelai told him and for the first time he looked up.

"Mommy, why was I in your belly?" William asked.

"That´s where little babies grow, in the stomach of their mother. But I have to tell you, you were lucky, because you were alone in there. But with your sisters it must have been pretty crowded in there. I was so fat, oh my god!" She smiled but then saw that he must have had a nosebleed.

"Luke could you bring us a wet washcloth?" She asked her husband.

"Why what happened?" He asked and jumped out of his chair.

"I think he had a nosebleed, he and my shoulder are bloody. It´s gross and I want to clean us." She explained.

"Yeah sure." Luke said and walked into the house. He came back a few minutes later with a wet washcloth and the bathrobes of the kids. Sara and Laila were both asleep by then and lay on their chairs in the shadow. He handed Lorelai the requested item and the bathrobe and then proceeded to cover the twins.

"Come here, baby, let´s make you pretty again." Lorelai smiled and carefully cleaned his face and then her shoulder.

"So much blood, honey! Like in a horror-movie." She said and showed him the red washcloth.

"Mommy, am I dying?" He asked and his lip quivered.

"Oh no, my baby. You´re not dying. You are not allowed to die before your father and me. It´s not that much blood, it just looks like a lot because it is mixed with the pool-water. And now sit up and slip into your bathrobe." She said and wanted to sit up, but William tackled her back down.

"No, mommy." He started to sob again and clung to her as tightly as before.

"William I will stay right here and hold you close again afterwards and tell you stories from the time when you were a baby, but you need to wear your bathrobe, otherwise you´ll get sick." She told him and untangled from him and handed him the bathrobe. He quickly put it on and then curled up on top of her , his head on her shoulder and his feet on her thighs.

"Look at you, no chance you would fit in there now!" She laughed and tickled his feet. He giggled and lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her. Without hesitation he gave her a kiss on the mouth. Lorelai gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled at him.

"Can I have one more? I missed you during the last year and I need some more of these kisses to make up for it." William smiled back and gave her at least a dozen kisses before he lay his head back down on her shoulder and sighed.

"My poor baby, such a shock, huh? I think we need to teach you how to swim so that it won´t happen again." She said and nuzzled his ear with her nose, while her hands stroked up and down his back and finally pulled the hood of the bathrobe up and over his wet hair.

"Now you look like one of Babette's gnomes." She smiled and Luke, who lay on the chair beside her, laughed and took her hand and laced his fingers through hers.

"Mommy?" William asked after some minutes of silence.

"Yes, sweety?"

"One more?" He asked, lifted his head and looked at her with hopeful eyes. Lorelai took his face in both hands and gave him another kiss.

"I thought kissing a girl was gross?" She teased him afterwards.

"Not you mommy." He told her and lay back down.

Lorelai hugged him with one arm and turned her head to Luke and they smiled at each other.

**TBC**


	10. The second night

**I planed on updating June third, but because the chapter got lost on my computer and my beta had to send it to me again it took me a day longer. So sad, June third is over and she isn´t Mrs. Danes... I hope you all participated in the purple ribbon- day!**

**This chapter is pretty much all fluff, but not really a filler chapter only... you´ll see and I hope you like it!

* * *

****Chapter 10: The second night**

"I think we have to get him out of his wet shorts." Luke said half an hour later. They had been dozing in the sun, William was asleep on top of Lorelai, whimpering from time to time, which caused Lorelai to place kisses on his cap-covered head or his forehead.

Sara had woken up ten minutes ago and now lay on top of Luke, pulling on his chest-hair from time to time, which caused him to groan and her to giggle.

"I know, but it´s so nice to have him with me like this." Lorelai sighed and kissed her son again.

Luke suddenly felt something on his legs and saw Laila crawling on top of him.

"Hey princess, sleep well?" He asked her while she lay down next to her sister and snuggled close to him.

"Yes. Daddy, I am hungry." She told him and yawned.

"When are you not hungry, princess? But I will start dinner soon. But first you have to take a shower and change into your pjs and then we will eat before you go to bed," Luke played with her dark-blonde curls while he talked to her.

"But only if we get a story!" Sara insisted and sat up, causing him to groan, because she used his stomach to steady herself.

Lorelai laughed when she saw this and sat up. She carefully lay William on the deck chair and opened his bathrobe. She took another pair of shorts out of the backpack they had brought out with them, to save them trips inside, and then took his wet shorts off. She toweled him dry, took a closer look at his face, which was still fire red from the crash on the water. Some blood was still visible in his nostrils and she carefully tried to rub it away with an edge of the towel, which caused him to flinch.

She dressed him in dry shorts and scooped him back up into her arms.

"I´m gonna go inside with him; get him ready for dinner and bed. " Lorelai said and realized, when she turned towards Luke, that he had already taken the backpack, the towels, and the twins and was ready to go inside. They smiled at each other and Lorelai took the towels from him and together they walked into the house.

* * *

Luke started the water for the bathtub and Lorelai nudged William awake. He was sleepy and confused by his surroundings and buried his head once again in his mother's shoulder. Lorelai placed him on the bathroom floor, took off his bathrobe and his shorts, and placed him in the shower, while Luke placed the twins in the tub.

He had to laugh when he saw William in the shower because the boy wasn´t really awake and had trouble keeping himself up, so much that Lorelai had to steady him.

At one point she just jumped into the shower with him, which was no problem because she was still wearing her bathing suit.

After she stepped out of the shower and had wrapped William in a towel, he immediately clung to her again and she had to carry him into his room to dress him.

* * *

"So, honey, what do you want to wear tonight? Your blue pajamas or your other blue pajamas?" Lorelai smiled at William who sat up in his bed.

"That one!" He decided and pointed to a dark blue shirt and black shorts.

"Okay, then we will get you the matching boxers, huh?" She said and took out blue boxers for him.

She threw the boxers to him and he laughed when they hit him in the face. He stood up and slipped them on.

"Hey you, wait. First we have to cream you so that you smell good and don´t have skin like an old elephant!" She stopped him when he wanted to dress himself.

"Daddy never creams himself and he doesn´t have skin like an old elephant." William protested.

"That´s what you think!" Lorelai laughed.

"He doesn´t have skin like an old elephant!" William said again and shook his head.

"No, he doesn´t because he creams himself."

"Uh-uh!" William said.

"Uh-huh" said Lorelai and nodded.

"I will ask him and then he can tell you that he doesn´t!" William insisted.

"Oh, he does, Will, believe me!" Lorelai grinned.

"How do you know that? You´re never at home, you don´t know that!" Lorelai´s smile disappeared and she needed a moment to compose herself, but then she plastered a smile on her face again and sat down on the bed beside him.

"I know that Will because even though I haven´t been home much during the last year, your daddy and I took one or two showers together, so I know stuff like that. I also know that you won another soccer game and shot some goals. William, I wanted so badly to be there when you had your soccer-cup or on your first day of kindergarten. I know I can´t make up for it, but I am trying. All I am asking for is another chance. Can you give me that?" Lorelai asked him and was on the verge of tears again, but tried to keep the smile on her face.

"Mommy, I don´t hate you!" He told her and wiped the tears cascading down her face away with a finger. She took him in her arms again and cried for some time in his shoulder, pressing him against her. The relieve flooded her so suddenly and hard, that she wasn´t able to hold back.

"Mommy, don´t cry. It´s okay, I´m here. I won´t let you go! I love you." William repeated her words from this afternoon and stroked over her hair, like he had seen his father do so often.

"I love you too my baby!" She whispered in his ear and pulled back to wipe her tears away and take a deep breath.

"Let´s get you ready." She smiled at him then, pulled him close, and placed another kiss on top of his head.

"Mommy is there also a body-cream for men? Does daddy use that one?" William asked a minute later while Lorelai creamed his body .

"I´m sorry to disappoint you, honey, but your daddy uses the normal body cream. Nothing overly-manly there." She grinned and stroked a bit of cream on his nose. William looked at her, then wiped the cream away with one finger and smeared it on her nose. Lorelai, without any other reaction, dipped her finger in the cream-box and smeared it on his nose again. William grinned and she grinned back and within seconds they were smearing the cream all over each other.

When they finished, William was completely greasy and Lorelai had cream in her face, on her bathing-suit, and in her hair.

"You dress yourself, I´m gonna take a shower and we will meet at dinner, kind sir?" She asked him and wiped the rest of the cream from his cheek.

"Okay. And mommy? Don´t cry anymore, okay? I saw you crying sometimes in the last year and I don´t want you to cry." He said when she was nearly out of the room already.

"I won´t. And if I do then I have two strong men to soothe me now!" She smiled and blew him a kiss.

* * *

"And, what did my big strong diner-man cook for me?" She teased Luke when she entered the dinning-room some time later. The kids were already there and started to giggle when they heard her talk like that. Luke just gave her a look.

"My beautiful, sexy honey-bunny you cooked for me, so cute!" She said in a girlish voice and winked at the kids.

"Keep talking like that and you won´t get any!" Luke grumped and placed the potatoes on the table.

"Dirty!" She exclaimed and kissed him after his usual "Ah geez" comment.

* * *

After dinner and after they had read a bedtime-story for the kids together, Luke and Lorelai sat outside on the roof-terrace, which was connected to their bedroom, drank red wine and talked. They sat on the large swing, which was a lot more comfortable than the one Lorelai had had on her porch at the crap shack. Luke was leaning against the arm-rest and had his legs on the swing; Lorelai was sitting between his legs and leaning on his chest, playing with his hands in her lap.

"I was so scared when William fell into the pool today. We should have paid more attention to them and not just let them run around without supervision." Lorelai said quietly.

"We told them a thousand times today that they should stay away from the pool and they weren´t without supervision, we were both there. You were in the pool and I was right next to it. He was just underwater for a few seconds and of course he was scared, but I think it brought you two closer again." Luke said and stroked with his index finger over the back of her hand.

"You're right, but I wouldn´t want to repeat it. I think the last time I was that scared was when Laila went MIA at the cabin two years ago."

"And then we found her sleeping on the toilet." Luke chuckled. Lorelai turned around on top of him and nuzzled his ear with her nose and placed a kiss on his throat.

"I couldn´t bear losing one of our kids. Or you. When I tried to grab him and couldn´t I panicked, I was seconds away from screaming hysterically so that you would come and save us." She mumbled and he felt her tears on his skin.

"I knew that you would get him, that´s why I didn´t jump in. I knew that you wouldn´t give up until you got him and you did." He said and stroked over Lorelai´s hair which caused her to laugh.

"What?" Luke asked confused and Lorelai looked up, still laughing.

"Will told me before dinner that he doesn´t hate me. He caught me so off guard because seconds before we had been discussing your creaming-habits..."

"My what?"

"... that I started crying again and he soothed me and stroked over my head, like you just did." She finished her explanation.

"You´ve been crying a lot lately." Luke said and looked concerned. He wiped the last tears off her cheeks.

"I know. I am just so emotional and I can´t help it."

"But you´re not...?" He asked and his eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair.

"I am not... what?" She didn´t understand.

"Pregnant?" He clarified.

"No." She said and looked down fixated on his shoulder.

"Hey what is it?" He asked her, placed a hand under her chin and made her look at him.

"Did you ever think about it?" She asked him and looked him in the eyes.

"About...?" He asked this time.

"Having another kid." She said and looked down.

"Because I sometimes thought about it. After the twins started pre-school I thought that maybe another one would be nice, maybe another boy this time. I mean, we were able to handle three little kids at a time then another baby wouldn´t be that hard. But then all this stuff at the Inn happened and I didn´t find the time to talk with you about it. And then I realized that I wasn´t able to handle the Inn and my kids, how would I be able to handle another one? It wouldn´t have been fair because you would have to deal with it alone, while I was working like crazy. ButI thought about it and it would have been nice." She confessed. Luke was quiet for some time and she knew he needed time to process what she had said.

"It would be nice, yes. But it´s not too late. The twins started pre-school a year ago, it´s not that much later. We could... think about it and maybe..." He said and kissed her forehead.

"I think the last year showed that first I should concentrate on the kids we already have rather than getting pregnant again. Will has forgiven me, but I can´t go back to the way it was before that easily. I need to figure things out when we get back, how I will be able to deal with everything in a good way, without neglecting you and the kids or giving up the Inn. But still, it would have been nice to have another little one." She smiled.

"Yes, it would have been nice." He agreed and kissed her softly. Lorelai´s hands went in his hair and they both moaned when their tongues found each other.

"You know, we could still do what is required to get pregnant, without actually getting pregnant. I am still on the pill, you know." Lorelai mumbled against his lips, while they were still kissing each other.

"Really?" He whispered back, grinned and sat up, sitting her in his lap and kissing her some more before he stood up, bringing her with him and carried her inside.

He placed her on the bed and she pulled him on top of her. Their hands found their way under their clothes and kept roaming over their bodies. Lorelai pulled Luke´s shirt over his head and placed kisses on his chest. He caressed her stomach and let his hands glide up to her breasts. His fingers found the clasp on the front of her bra when they heard a loud scream.

* * *

"Mommy! Mommy!" They heard William scream panicked.

They both jumped out of the bed and ran into his room, where they found him tossing and turning in his bed, still asleep. He was crying, screaming, and struggling.

"William, Will, hey!" Luke said and nudged him gently to wake him up, while Lorelai sat down on the bed, stroking soothingly over his cheeks. His eyes fluttered open, he looked around, still crying, and saw his parents. He threw himself into his mother's arms, whimpering and sobbing.

"Hey, Will what is it? What´s wrong?" Luke asked and sat down beside them.

"I was under the water and couldn´t breathe and I couldn´t see." He sobbed and his voice broke.

"It´s all right, we are here and you are safe. We would never let anything happen to you." Luke said and kissed him on his head, while Lorelai rocked him from side to side.

"Can I sleep with you?" William cried into his mother´s shoulder. Lorelai gave Luke a sad smile, which he returned, before she said.

"Of course you can, baby." She handed him to Luke, who carried him over to their bedroom.

They all got situated on the bed, William in the middle between his parents, his head lying on Luke´s outstretched arm, while his face was buried in his mother's chest. Luke caressed his head with one hand, while Lorelai hugged him to her with one arm.

After a few minutes his sobs subsided and his breaths evened and they knew he was asleep.

Lorelai reached over with her free hand to Luke and caressed his cheek.

"There goes our second night." She said and sighed, but placed another kiss on William´s head. Luke took her hand in his and placed some kisses on it, kissed every finger.

"Welcome back, mummy!" He smiled, squeezed her hand and placed a last kiss on it.

"Good night." He said and switched off his lamp.

"Good night." She said and groaned again in disappointment. She heard Luke chuckle and switched off her lamp.

**TBC**


	11. Commercial man and bikinis

**New chapter, new luck, I guess, At least I hope so. I have to tell you guys, that reviews here are getting more and more rare and I don´t like it. It also might have to do with the fact that I am updating pretty fast, maybe I should change that and give you guys more time to read and review? I will think about it...**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Commercial man and bikinis**

The next morning, after breakfast, the whole family wanted to go to the beach. Luke and William were already waiting impatiently, while Lorelai was still changing. Laila was whining about her hair and Sara was looking for a way to work the stuffed animal, she wanted to bring, into her backpack, because Luke had told her not to bring it.

When Lorelai finally came down the stairs in a black skirt and blue top, with black flip-flops, William and Luke both gave her the same unnerved look.

"Mr. Grumpy and his grumpy son standing grumping in a corner..." she sang to tease them.

"Mommy, my hair isn´t looking good. Daddy did the pig-tails all wrong." Laila whined and stood in front of Lorelai to show her.

"It doesn´t matter anyway, because your hair will get wet and then it will look strange no matter what!" Luke told her.

"But I need to be pretty." She argued with him.

"Princess you are pretty, but let me fix this." Lorelai said, opened the pig-tails, pulled them up a bit higher and Laila was content.

Sara came out of the living room then and one leg of her stuffed-animal dog was hanging out of the back-pack, but she was confident, that Luke wouldn´t notice. He did.

"Sara, I told you that this dog stays here at the house!" He told her.

"No, he wants to come!" Sara said and stomped with one foot on the floor.

"No way, he will get dirty and wet and then I will have to clean this stupid thing." Luke said and took the backpack out of her hands.

"He is not stupid you are!" She yelled at him.

"Watch your words! You will not talk to me like that or you can stay here with him." Luke scolded and took the dog out of the bag.

"If I have to leave him here I won´t wear my shoes." Sara yelled at him.

"That´s fine by me, you will step in the stones and burn your feet on the hot sand, not me. And now go, we want to leave." Luke said and ushered her out of the house.

"Mommy please!" She pouted and whined.

"Stop it , Missy, you heard what your father said and now shoo!" Lorelai agreed with Luke, who slung one arm around her waist and together they walked to the beach.

* * *

Sara had really left her shoes behind at the house and although the stones hurt her, as did the hot pavement, she was too stubborn to complain and kept jumping from one leg to the other.

Luke and Lorelai watched her for some time, but when they reached the beach with the hot sand, Luke, who had taken the shoes with him, gave her her shoes.

"Put on your shoes now. No discussion." He said and Sara obliged, but with an insulted expression. Lorelai just smiled at Luke, because of their stubborn daughter, while William and Laila skipped ahead.

"Here?" They would yell every few seconds, to know where they could lay down their towels.

After ten minutes they had found a nice spot on the beach and the kids immediately threw their towels in the sand, pulled off their clothes and wanted to run into the sea, but their parents stopped them.

"Hey, stay here, you can not swim and you won´t go in the sea without your water-wings! Will, one should think you´ve had enough underwater experience." Lorelai said and the kids moaned disappointedly.

"Then hurry up." Laila sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, you can fold your clothes in the meantime and get them out of the sand and in one pile." Luke ordered and again they moaned, but obliged. Luke and Lorelai meanwhile blew up the air-wings.

The kids wanted to run off again, but again they stopped them.

"Here are the rules: One, you stay where we can see you. Two, you won´t go any further into the water than when it reaches your ankles. Three, no throwing of stones or mud. Understood?" Luke asked.

"But daddy, we can´t learn how to swim when we can´t go into the sea." William complained.

"You can learn how to swim when we are with you or in the pool. It´s too dangerous out there with the waves. " Luke explained.

* * *

While the kids built sand-castles near the sea Luke and Lorelai undressed. When Luke turned around and saw Lorelai his eyes nearly popped out, because she was wearing a black bikini which left nothing to the imagination.

"Is this new?" He asked when he had found his voice again.

"Uhuh. You like?" She asked him seductively, slid her arms around his neck, and pressed her body against his.

"Can you rub my back with the sun-lotion, I can't reach it!" She whispered in his ear and placed a kiss on his throat.

"Of course I can." He whispered back and kissed her. She lay down on her towel, and he opened the clasp of her bikini-top. He dripped some sun-lotion on her back and started to rub it into her skin. He had decided when she had asked him, that he would give her a little bit of her own medicine and so he did not rub it in her back with both hands, but stroked lightly with two fingers over her back, her shoulders, her neck, her hips, and down her legs.

"Luke, my back." She moaned and goose-bumps broke out on her skin. Luke kept stroking over her skin and she kept moaning from time to time. After a while he leaned towards her and whispered in her ear.

"Not that pleasant when someone get´s you all hot and you can´t release, huh?" She turned her head a bit and looked into his grinning face.

"You are an evil man, Danes!" She said and smiled, then placed a kiss on the tip of his nose.

Luke started rubbing the sun-lotion in her skin, for real this time.

"It´s not my fault, that we are both so sexually frustrated at the moment." Lorelai told him.

"Well, mine either." Luke said.

"I think we should wear them out today, so that they just fall into bed. Hope we won´t have anymore drama today, they are healthy again ... I think our chances are good for a little Luke and Lorelai alone time this evening, and tonight and tomorrow morning..." She grinned.

"You´ve got it all planned out already, huh? Let´s hope your plan works." Luke grinned back and kissed her before he helped her up and they made their way over to the kids.

* * *

"Wow, are you building a new house for us?" Lorelai asked.

"No, that´s a house for Meeko when he wants to visit the beach some day." Laila explained. William was the first to look up.

"Mommy, what are you wearing?" He asked her and Lorelai looked confused at Luke, who looked just as surprised.

"My bikini. Why?" She asked him.

"You really shouldn´t wear a bikini, but a bathing-suit" William said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why? I got my figure back after the pregnancies and nothing is wobbly!" Lorelai defended herself.

"Mommy how old are you?" William asked and put his hands on his hips.

"Forty-two." She said and mirrored his position.

"Women at forty-two don´t wear bikinis anymore." William said and nodded once to emphasize his statement. Luke was shaking with laughter already, which brought him a slap on the chest from his wife.

"Who says so?" She asked in a high-pitched voice.

"The TV-commercial. They say that women over forty don´t wear bikinis anymore and that´s why they are making such nice bathing suits for older women now." William explained. Lorelai gasped.

"They... you... I... I´m not..." She tried to say something, which caused Luke to laugh even harder.

"You don´t know anything about that, because you are not a woman over forty!" She said with an outstretched finger pointing at his face.

"But the man in the commercial does!" William shot back.

"Pff, a man!" Lorelai rolled her eyes and stomped off.

Luke laughed, and the kids kept building their castle, while Lorelai sulked on her towel while flipping through a Glamour magazine.

* * *

Still smirking Luke stopped by after twenty minutes and asked her to come into the water with them. She needed a little wooing from his side to agree, but kept pouting all the way into the water.

The kids were happily splashing around them, and Luke and Lorelai swam a little, dove a little, and played with the kids and the waves.

"Aaaah, another huge one!" Lorelai yelled and threw herself in Luke´s arms, which caused him to fall over, taking her with him they fell into the sea. The kids laughed about their parents' clumsiness, which caused another water-fight.

When they lay on the ground, Luke on top of Lorelai now, she grinned at him and then squeezed his butt with both hands. She kept them there and he groaned.

"A little payback for your attack with the sun-lotion earlier. I see, or should I say feel, you like it!" she said. Luke started to grin also, then rolled them over and farther into the sea, so that she was completely under the water. She gasped when he pulled her back up.

"I saw, or should I say felt, that you needed a little cooling off!" He told her. She tried to to dunk him under the water, also, climbed on his back, pulled at his legs, but he just kept laughing. The kids came to help her and finally Luke gave in and let himself fall into the water. The kids and Lorelai screamed out their victory.

* * *

They bantered all morning and afternoon on the beach, built one castle after the other, and everyone got their fair share of water and sand in the face, the eyes, ears, and everywhere else.

Lorelai kept teasing Luke with her bikini, but he found ways to tease her back.

They all took a shower or a bath when they arrived back at the house and decided to eat out that day, because Luke wasn´t in the mood to cook and Lorelai said, that it is fair because he cooks on holidays, too.

They ate at a good fish restaurant, which caused Sara to whine because she didn´t like fish. But Luke and Lorelai were lucky, because they found some spaghetti on the kid's menu.

* * *

When they arrived back at the house again, the kids were asleep and Luke carried William and Sara while Lorelai had Laila in her arms.

"God, they are getting heavy." She groaned and placed Laila on the bed. Luke smiled and walked past the room, first lay Sara in her bed, then William.

"You are complaining, I carried two!" He said when he was out in the hallway again.

"Oh, my poor husband. But should I carry them or what?" She asked him.

"We still have to change them." He ignored her comment.

"You really want to change them?" She asked him.

"Of course, they can´t sleep in their clothes." He said. Lorelai stepped towards him and started to play with the buttons of his dress-shirt and opened the first.

"But if we change them now, then maybe they will wake up again and then we have to read to them and sing and wait until they fall asleep again, which reduces our special alone time to some extent." She said, her gaze fixated on the buttons she played with. When she looked up at him, his lips immediately crashed down on her own.

Luke pressed her against the wall in the hallway and she unbuttoned his shirt. It fell on the floor, when he slipped out of it.

"Up." She mumbled breathless against his lips, before she kept kissing him again. He lifted her up and her legs wrapped around his waist, and his hands on her butt, which caused them both to moan. She started sucking on his neck, while he first nibbled on her earlobe, then took the clips out of her hair, so that it fell freely on her shoulders.

"Bedroom." He groaned and stumbled with her into the bedroom, kicking the door shut. They fell onto the bed, still kissing. Lorelai rolled them over and straddled him and grinned down at him.

"Finally." She whispered just seconds before their lips crashed together again.

"Too many clothes, mister." Lorelai murmured and started to unbuckle his belt.

"You´re one to talk!" He smiled and started to unbutton her blouse. But the urge to kiss each other once again took over and she lay down on top of him, kissed him again, before she sat back up and he followed her. He resumed unbuttoning her blouse and had reached the fifth button when the door-bell rang. They stopped, stared at each other, their lips still connected.

"Tell me that I miss heard. The doorbell did not ring!" She said, but Luke didn´t need to answer, because the doorbell rang again.

"I don´t believe this! Has the whole universe decided to form a unit against us? What have we done, Luke, what?" She whined and started to rebutton her blouse.

"I don´t know, but what stupid idiot rings the doorbell at this time of night. This better be important, otherwise I´m gonna kick his ass!" Luke fumed and rebuckled his belt.

"Kick him no matter what. The sooner the better, so that we can finish what we started three days ago! Is it really too much that I wanna have mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex with my husband?" Lorelai asked.

"Where is my shirt?" Luke wanted to know and the bell rang again.

"God, yes you idiot, wake up the kids, so that we don´t get a chance at all tonight!" Lorelai nearly yelled frustrated. Together they walked into the hall and Luke picked up his shirt from the floor and slipped it on.

"Daddy, who is it?" a sleepy William asked and came out of his room.

"Great." Luke groaned and he and Lorelai shared a desperate look and when he had buttoned his shirt Luke picked up William, who yawned loudly.

"We don´t know, but we will check now." Lorelai said aggressively and they stomped downstairs, William still on Luke´s arm and Lorelai threw the door open.

"Hi." came the simple greeting from the other side, together with a smile. The three of them just stared and Luke was the first one who found his voice again.

"Rory?" He asked.

**TBC**


	12. Oh William

For **sarahb2007**, cause she doesn´t want to wait any longer... I hope the other readers will come back... sometime...

* * *

**Chapter 12: Oh William!**

"Hi." Rory smiled at them, while they were still staring and she was still standing outside. William was the next to snap out of his daze and wiggled out of Luke´s arms, walked to the door and pushed it shut.

"Let´s go back to bed." He said and pulled on his mother´s hand.

"William!" Luke exclaimed and opened the door again.

"What a nice welcome, little brother." Rory said sarcastically. William glared at her.

"Go away!" He yelled then and wanted to push the door closed again, but Rory was faster and held it open from the outside. William tried with all he had to close it again, but it wasn´t working. Finally Lorelai pulled him back and scooped him in her arms, and held him close.

"God, what´s his problem?" Rory exclaimed angrily and stepped inside.

"Hey Dad, hi mom." She greeted them, gave Luke a short hug, and then tried to to do the same with Lorelai, but William pushed her away .

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai finally asked and one could hear that she was angry. Angry because of the call days ago, angry because of the interruption of her time with Luke, angry because she feared that Rory´s appearance would put a damper on her relationship with William again.

"Well, I came back from London this morning and wanted to see you, but the house was empty, so I asked Sookie and she told me that you came here. You could have said something, I would have come along in the first place. I really could use a holiday." Rory explained and walked past them into the living room. Luke and Lorelai shared a look and followed her.

"Make her go away." William whispered in his mother´s ear while they walked into the living room and Lorelai just placed a kiss on his cheek to calm him. Rory was sitting on the couch already.

"God, I am exhausted, the flight was a nightmare. There was this guy sitting next to me and he kept snoring the whole time; I couldn´t sleep. The food was disgusting and the coffee... gah, worst coffee I have ever had. And I was flying first class, imagine! Next time I will chose another airline. So I am tired, hungry, and in desperate need of some coffee." Rory babbled and looked expectantly at Luke.

"Give me William, I will change him and put him to bed." Luke said to Lorelai and she could tell that he was seconds from exploding.

"Nooo, I wanna stay with mommy! I am not tired!" William started to cry, because he was dead tired. Lorelai handed William to Luke and kissed him again.

"I will be right there." She told them and turned to Rory. When Luke and William were out of sight she asked again.

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

"Are you mad at me?" Rory asked surprised.

"Rory!" Lorelai yelled.

"Logan and I broke up. For good this time." She said and looked down at her hands, tears in her eyes.

"Well, that´s what I figured, but why are you here?" Lorelai shot back and Rory was surprised by her harsh tone.

"Why I am here? Because I am sad and desperate and need my best friend." Rory started to cry.

"Lane is your best friend." Lorelai said softer.

"But it´s late and I couldn´t wake her up, so I took another flight here."

"To wake your three little siblings up, because that´s not that bad."

"What is your problem?" Rory yelled.

"My problem? Do you remember what happened five days ago? You remember that I called you while I was sitting at the airport wanting to fly over to London."

"Why didn´t you?"

"Why I ...? God, I don´t believe this! Because you were drunk on the phone and told me not to come, because you and Logan made up again. You weren´t interested in anything that happened here and hung up on me, basically telling me that you don´t need me as long as everything is fine with Logan. And I told you that I am fed up with it, that you are old enough to deal with your problems on your own, because I have enough problems of my own at the moment, which doesn´t bother you in any way. And now you´re barging in here, ruining my time with Luke, waking up William, suggesting that Luke should cook you dinner and make you coffee at eleven thirty at night, while I should wallow with you. The world doesn´t evolve around you, Rory. We have three little kids upstairs, whom I neglected during the last year and they need me." Lorelai yelled.

"It´s not my fault that you neglected your kids! And I don´t think it´s too much to expect my mother to be there for me when I break up with my boyfriend!" Rory yelled back.

"No, it´s not too much as long as it isn´t a weekly happening!" Lorelai shot back and Rory was stunned for some seconds, tears still on her face.

"So you want me to leave?" She asked shocked.

"Yes...no... you can stay. We can talk about this tomorrow, when we have both calmed down. But all the rooms are taken, we will have to think of something tomorrow, for tonight the couch has to do it. I will bring you a blanket and a pillow." Lorelai said hugged her briefly and placed a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

She walked back upstairs and into William's room. The boy was ranting about something and Luke tried to calm him.

"Hey Will, isn´t it a little late for a speech to the world?" She tried to joke.

"Why is she here? I want her to leave!" William said upset.

"She broke up with Logan again and needs some time with her family." Lorelai told William, who snorted angrily.

"William she is your sister and when she needs us, she is welcome any time." Luke said.

"We will discuss this tomorrow, okay honey? Together with your sisters, and then we will decide what to do, okay?" Lorelai asked him and kissed him on the forehead.

"But you will still teach me how to swim?" He asked.

"I will still teach you how to swim. And now sleep." Lorelai smiled.

"Good night, mommy. Good night, daddy" William yawned, satisfied with her answer for the moment.

"Good night honey. Kiss." Lorelai said and gave him a good night kiss, as did Luke and together they walked into their bedroom.

* * *

"Vacation with a wallowing young woman, sounds like fun." Luke scoffed and let himself fall onto the bed.

"I can´t throw her out." Lorelai sighed.

"I know. That wouldn´t be fair." Luke agreed.

"But she has to integrate herself this time. I won´t throw all our plans out the window, just because she decided to show up like that." Lorelai said.

"Well, our first plan already flew out the window." He said with raised eyebrows.

"I know and I hate it. Couldn´t she show up in the morning? I feel... I don´t know... I don't think I´ve ever been this sexually frustrated, at least I can´t remember. I mean here we are in a beautiful house, with a huge bed and a whirlpool and we have to live in celibate because every night something different happens. The kids are asleep, now would have been the perfect opportunity, but now my crazy 26 year old daughter is wandering through the house, probably watching TV until early in the morning. That reminds me, I still have to bring her a blanket and a pillow." Lorelai groaned and stood up. She took the items out of the dresser and walked downstairs. She placed the things on the couch and found Rory in the kitchen.

"I left a pillow and a blanket on the couch for you." She told her and also took a cup and filled it with coffee.

"Thank you." Rory said and played with the mug in her hand.

"You know, it´s not that I don´t want you here. It´s just that it complicates a lot of things again, especially with Will." Lorelai told her.

"What´s wrong with him? Why does he want me to leave again?" Rory asked clearly hurt.

"I treated him really badly over the last year and he basically had to disappear and step back every time you showed up. It´s not really your fault, because I was the one acting so stupid, but he really, well... hates you and everything that has to do with you at the moment." Lorelai admitted.

"Why didn´t you tell me?"

"I told you on the phone five days ago."

"Could we just forget that call happened, because I don´t remember it at all and I am sorry for that. What happened with Will?"

"He rejected me completely. When I wanted to fly to you he freaked out, kicked me, and yelled at me that he hated me. He didn´t let me touch him anymore. Later I found him crying, he thought I wouldn´t come back from London, because I hate him and would only love you. He is so jealous, Rory. I just started to get his trust back and since the pool thing happened he really clung to me. I am scared that with you here, he will freeze me out again."

"Oh mom," Rory said and hugged her.

"That´s why you and Luke were so angry about me showing up here. I can leave again." Rory offered and pulled back.

"No, stay. I can´t neglect Will because of you, but I can´t throw you out because of him either. We will have to find another solution. And we weren´t angry really about you showing up here. Your timing was just a little off." Lorelai said and smiled in a way, that Rory knew what she was talking about.

"Oh my god, did I interrupt you, having..." Rory said blushing.

"No, not really. We weren´t ... doing it, more like... looking forward to it, because since we have been here, we haven´t had a chance at all, because first the twins were sick, then William had nightmares because he nearly drowned, well and now... you are here." Lorelai explained and sighed.

"What Will nearly drowned? But he is okay now, isn´t he?" Rory asked shocked.

"Yes, don´t worry. We were all just scared afterwards. He fell into the pool head first, but I was on it and I pulled him out not that long after he fell in. He is scared now, that´s it and Luke and I were upset. Speaking of which, I think I will go to sleep now. Good night Rory." Lorelai said and kissed her on the cheek.

"Night mom and tell Luke I'm really sorry!" Rory said.

"I better not, otherwise he will never be able to look you in the eye again." Lorelai laughed and left the kitchen.

Upstairs in the bedroom Luke was already asleep and all she could do was lay her head on his chest. She gave him a last kiss and then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Rory awoke the next morning when something poked her in the cheek. She opened her eyes and came face to face with the twins, their faces were millimeters away from her own and they were looking at her curiously.

"What are you doing here Rory?" Sara asked her and poked her in the cheek again with her index finger.

"I was sleeping." Rory mumbled. Laila meanwhile crawled on top of her and sat down on her stomach.

"Laila, what are you doing? Get off of me!" Rory complained, which only caused them to giggle, while Sara sat down beside her sister.

"We wanna watch TV and you are blocking the couch." Laila said in a duh-tone.

"What time is it?" Rory asked and rubbed her eyes.

"There is a six and then a two and an eight." Sara told her.

"It´s six thirty in the morning and you are waking me up?" Rory groaned and let herself fall back on her pillow.

"Mommy said that when we are up before they are up we should be quiet, watch TV, and wait till daddy makes breakfast." Sara told her.

"Because we are not allowed to leave the house, go into the kitchen, or William's room, or mommy and daddy´s room while they are sleeping." Laila completed.

"Why don´t you read something and leave me alone?" Rory whined.

"Because we can´t read, Rory. We can write our name, but we can´t read. And Barney is on right now!" Sara smiled and the next thing Rory heard was Barney, the dinosaur´s voice, singing about numbers.  
"I know that!" Sara yelled excitedly and started to sing along with him; Laila joined her.

"Urgh!" Rory said and pulled the pillow over her face and ears, while the twins still sat on top of her.

* * *

Luke came down the stairs nearly three hours later and laughed out loud when he saw the picture in the living room. Rory lay on her back, her head lying on the right side, facing the TV. A pillow was covering the other half of her face. Laila´s head lay on that pillow, while she lay on top of Rory and Sara used Laila´s back as a pillow. All three were asleep and on TV, the power rangers were fighting.

"I thought they stopped that crap." Luke muttered when he saw them fighting the evil in their colorful costumes. He shut off the TV and took Sara off of Laila, placed her on the end of the couch where Rory´s feet were and covered her with the blanket. He readjusted Laila, so that she was lying on Rory´s shoulder and not on her face anymore, and put her feet also under the blanket.

Then he went into the kitchen and started making breakfast. William was the next to come down and he helped Luke by putting the plates on the table.

Lorelai came into the kitchen just when the coffee was ready, with Laila and Sara on her arms.

"Look what I found in the living room." She grinned, handed them to Luke, who kissed them and sat them down on the chairs.

"Is Rory coming, too?" Luke asked her and gave her a kiss.

"She is still asleep." Lorelai said.

"Will, could you go and wake up Rory and tell her breakfast is ready." Luke said without thinking about it.

"Okay." the boy shrugged and Lorelai looked at him suspiciously. William walked out of the kitchen and after nearly a minute they heard Rory screaming and Will ran into the kitchen and hid behind his father´s legs.

"Have you lost your mind?" Rory yelled when she burst through the kitchen door, her face and hair dripping wet.

"Breakfast." was all William said.

"What happened?" Luke asked confused and looked down at William.

"He splashed a whole glass of ice-cold water on my face!" Rory said upset, took a towel and dried her face. Sara was the first who started to giggle, followed by Laila.

"Oh William!" was all Lorelai said before she burst out in laughter.

**TBC?**


	13. Little jerk

**Okay, because the German soccer team won again today, i give you this chapter as a little victory present! Thanks for the reviews, they are also part of why I post this,I hope you keep this up!

* * *

****Chapter 13: Little jerk**

Besides the constant chatter of the kids, the breakfast passed in silence because Rory was angry with William and with Lorelai and Luke for not saying anything more to her little brother. Not even a single "You won´t do that again!" from Luke, nothing. On the other hand, she knew that Lorelai had kind of warned her about William. So she used the breakfast to contemplate in her head what to do: Being angry at William or do something about his behaviour towards her.

She decided for the second option.

"Hey, you three, what do you think about going to the water-world today?" She asked the kids at the end of breakfast.

"Yay! We´re going there? Really?" Sara yelled excited and Laila clapped her hands. William remained silent.

"You wanna take them to the water-world thing? You´re sure?" Lorelai asked skeptically.

"It would be nice. We could have fun with all the slides and spend time together and you two would also have time to do... whatever you want to." Rory said and grinned at Lorelai. Luke blushed.

"That´s nice Rory, but I think we should come along. These three are always trouble and they can´t swim. I think it would be too much to watch them by yourself." Luke said.

"Auw!" He yelled a second later because Lorelai had kicked him under the table.

"They will wear the water-wings, stay close to Rory, and I am sure they will be perfect little angels at the water world, because otherwise they will come back here immediately." Lorelai said and gave all three a look.

"Okay." Laila mumbled and Sara nodded.

"See." Lorelai grinned at Luke and stroked over his thigh with one finger. Luke caught her hand and shook his head disapprovingly, which caused her to laugh.

"I don´t wanna go with Rory, I wanna stay here!" William announced then.

"So close." whispered Lorelai and let her head drop onto the table.

"William, I think it is a very nice offer of Rory and I am sure you will enjoy yourself. It´s better than sitting all day long here with your boring parents. You will go with Rory and you will behave." Luke ordered. Lorelai looked up and beamed at him.

"But daddy, I can stay here and watch TV. But don´t make me go with her." William yammered and pointed at Rory.

"Oh come on Will, it will be fun." Rory said and nudged him. William hit her on the arm.

"Take your hands off!" He yelled at her.

"William, no yelling! And you have to go because Rory needs your help with the twins. We don´t want something to happen to them, huh?" Lorelai tried a different strategy. It worked.

* * *

"You think it was mean to trick him into going?" Lorelai asked breathlessly an hour later, while she and Luke made their way upstairs, their lips only parting for seconds.

"Nah." Luke said and Lorelai´s shirt landed somewhere on the stairs. Halfway upstairs they had to stop and Luke pressed her against the wall. He kissed along her jaw, down her neck and to her collarbone, while his hands fumbled with the clasp of her bra.

"A bit out of practice, huh?" Lorelai giggled. She kissed him again before she pulled his shirt over his head and threw it over the railing. Luke succeeded on opening her bra and pulled it off. His hands wandered to her breasts and Lorelai gasped when she felt his thumbs stroking her breasts. They became more frantic and Lorelai opened his belt and opened his fly. Luke crushed her against him. She jumped and clasped her legs around his waist and he carried her the last few steps upstairs and into their bedroom.

They ripped off their remaining clothes the second they stepped into the bedroom and fell on the bed without saying another word.

* * *

"William, come on! If you keep walking that slowly we will never reach a slide." Rory said to William who was meters behind his sisters, while they walked through the park.

"I can see Laila and Sara better when I am behind you." William said with hostility.

"You will get lost! Will, hurry up." Rory said.

"Leave me alone." William muttered and walked even slower.

* * *

"Mmmh, so this it what it feels like. I'm starting to remember." Lorelai smiled and placed a kiss on Luke´s naked chest.

"What what feels like?" He asked her and kept playing with her curls.

"Post-coital exhaustion, being sleepy after sex, knocked out after f..." She couldn´t go on because Luke pressed his hand over her mouth.

"Geez, would you just shut up." He said. She started to giggle and he took his hand away from her mouth.

"That´s not what you moaned minutes ago." She grinned.

"I wouldn´t be so cocky, I remember a woman with dark curls, here in this bed, screaming some minutes ago." He grinned back and covered her mouth with his. His tongue slipped into her mouth and she pulled him down on top of her.

"Suddenly... not so... tired... anymore..." She mumbled between kisses, before all clear thoughts left her mind for the second time that day.

* * *

"You have to be kidding me! William, I told you we are moving on to the next slide so come down here!" Rory yelled while William ran the stairs up to the slide again.

"Nooo!" was all he yelled back. He disappeared into the crowd of people and Rory had to wait until he slid down and into the water. She walked over to him. When William saw her he started to run towards the slide again. Rory followed him.

"You stay here now!" She yelled and grabbed his arm.

"Auw, you´re hurting me! Let me go! My arm, auw, my arm!" William started to scream and let himself fall to the ground.

"Don´t try to trick me. I am not hurting you and now get up." Rory yelled.

"No, aww, my arm! Get away from me, you´re stupid! My arm, my arm!" William screamed even louder.

"My god, let go of that poor boy!" an older woman suddenly said and pulled William out of Rory´s grasp.

"Can´t you see that you are hurting your son. What kind of mother are you?" She turned angrily to Rory while William slowly stood up.

"I´m... I mean... I am not..." Rory stuttered.

"She´s not my mother, she´s my stupid sister!" William said angrily and sniffed one time for the effect, before he looked with puppy eyes and a pout at the woman.

"And where are your parents?"

"At home, we´re alone here with Rory." Sara explained.

"Your parents really shouldn´t let you alone with her. Do you want a popsicle my boy?" the woman asked him.

"I don´t think that this is necessary." Rory said, but the woman ignored her.

"Thank you, mam." William said and sniffed again, then walked with the woman to the kiosk. While he waited for his popsicle he turned around and grinned proudly at Rory, who fumed.

* * *

"It´s so nice out here." Lorelai said and opened her eyes for a few seconds, blinking because of the sun.

"It´s getting hot out here, I think I need some cooling off." Luke said and stood up from his deck chair.

"Dirty!" Lorelai smiled. Luke only shook his head and walked to the edge of the pool. The water was cold and he only dipped his toes in, then his whole foot. Then he repeated it with his other foot. Lorelai had tiptoed towards him and when his left foot was in the water she gave him a push.

Luke knew her, and the second he stood near the edge of the pool he knew what was coming. When she gave him a push, he grabbed her arm and pulled her with him into the pool.

"Aaah, Luke, pffff are you crazy." She said and spit out some water.

"If I remember correctly you are the one who did the pushing in, not me." He grinned and rubbed the water out of his eyes.

"I could have died of a heart-attack, or drowned, or froze, or, or..." She rambled and wrung her hair.

"Froze? Need somebody to warm you up?" He grinned and pulled her to him at the waist.

"Why, you know someone who can? But he has to be strong and handsome with blue eyes and hot tatoos... think you can recommend somebody that perfect?" She whispered against his lips.

"I think I can." He whispered back and kissed her.

"My, my, really perfect... and a nice butt as a bonus." She said, kissed him more aggressively and pinched his butt.

* * *

"Can we have another ice-cream?" Laila asked while they all sat in the shade. After the woman had bought William some ice cream, the twins had wanted one as well.

"No, I think we should go on, the pirate slide, it is still waiting for us." Rory said.

"But I am hungry." Sara whined.

"And I don´t like pirates. They are ugly and scary." Laila said.

"This is your second ice cream and we have only been here for two hours. Dad is going to kill me." Rory said and rolled her eyes.

"He isn´t your dad. He is my dad and Sara´s and Laila´s, but not yours!" William spoke up for the first time since the incident with his arm.

"Of course, Luke is also my dad, Will." Rory said angrily.

"No, he is not. When Gigi came over the last time Chris came with her and he said during dinner that he is your daddy." Sara told Rory.

"Well, yes, he is also my daddy."

"You can not have two daddies." Laila shook her head.

"Chris is my biological father, but Luke is the father who was always there for me. So I kind of have two daddies." Rory explained.

"Then go to Chris and leave us alone. We only have one daddy and one mommy and we´re three. Gigi is only one, so she can share Chris with you." William told Rory.

"Will, why are you so mean to me? I haven´t done anything to you." Rory said truly sad.

"Because you are not my real sister and you are stupid and I don´t like you." He told her, then focused back on his popsicle.

* * *

Their wet swimming clothes were laying in a puddle on the living room floor, while Luke and Lorelai lay together on the couch.

"Never thought that it would be so uncomfortable in the pool. In the movies it´s always so romantic. In the dark, with the lights in the pool..." Lorelai sighed.

"Yeah, but out there it´s incredibly hot, the sun is burning, it´s a bright day and there goes the romance." Luke said.

"Yeah and it wasn´t comfortable either. I think I have bruises on my back from the edge of the pool. The couch was a much better idea." She said and kissed him.

"Although I can tell you that sex in a tub or in a Jacuzzi can be damn pleasurable." She grinned.

"Ah really? I always wondered why you wanted a huge Jacuzzi-tub in our bathroom."

He played dumb.

"We still have two more hours before the kids will be back." She said and stood up, tugging on his hand.

"Don´t you think a bath now would be a waste of water and it would be better to take it in the evening?" Luke protested.

"The kids will be back then, stud." She grinned and he stood up from the couch, chasing her up the stairs and into the bathroom.

* * *

"I won´t argue with you anymore. Take off those wet shorts and change into the others or you will not sit in the car." Rory argued with William.

"You can´t tell me anything! This is my daddy´s car and not yours!" William shot back and climbed into the back seat where the twins already sat.

"I said no!" Rory told him and pulled him out on his legs.

"Take your hands away or I will kick you!" William yelled.

"Get out of the car!" She pulled again and William, who lay now with his back on the seat, his feet hanging out the door, started kicking.

"Go away! Go away!" He yelled while he kicked Rory. He grabbed the water-wings, which lay on the floor of the car, and threw them into Rory´s direction. His feet hit her hands and arms, while the water-wings hit her in the face. One edge scratched her cheek.

"Auw." She said and let go of William and covered her cheek. When she looked at her hand she saw blood. Not much, but she was bleeding.

"Look, what you´ve done, you little jerk! Are you happy now?" She yelled at William.

"I am not a jerk, but you are! Stupid idiot Rory!" He yelled back and slammed the door shut. Rory glared at him through the window and he stuck out his tongue. She had the urge to hit him, but she just sat in the driver's seat and started the car.

* * *

"The kids will be back in a few minutes. At least that´s what Rory said this morning." Luke said and threw some tomatoes into the sauce while Lorelai set the table.

"I hope they had a good time. Rory could really use it after her break-up with Logan." Lorelai said.

"I think so. The twins were excited to go there. Only I am a bit worried about William. Maybe it wasn´t wise to let him go with her." Luke wondered, the uneasy feeling concerning William had never left him during the day. Lorelai walked up to him and slid her arms around his waist.

"But I like that we had time to make up for the last few days." She said and pecked him on the lips.

"You mean the last month." He grinned and kissed her softly.

"For the last year?" She asked and cocked her head to one side.

"I wouldn´t go that far." Luke laughed and they kissed each other tenderly again.

"Maybe it´s good that we decided against another kid, otherwise we would never have time for ourselves again." She said a bit sad.

"Lorelai, if you really want another kid, then..."

"No. I mean yes, it would have been nice. But we are too old now. We weren´t that fresh anymore when we had Will and the twins. It would get harder to get pregnant," at that Luke raised his eyebrows.

"Well, maybe not for us, but the risk is even higher of having twins again or a disabled child now than it was then. We should concentrate on these three and maybe we can steal our grand-kids in a few years when we want something to wake us up at night and spit all over us." She laughed.

"Okay. I think that´s a good idea." He smiled and they kissed again until the front door flew open and the twins came running into the kitchen.

"Hey, sweeties, how was your day?" Lorelai asked and kissed them, while Luke scooped them up in his arms.

"Yes, how was it and where is William?" Luke wanted to know, the bad feeling he had in his gut getting stronger.

"William kicked Rory and threw the water-wings at her and her cheek started bleeding." Laila said excitedly.

"And Rory said William is a little jerk and he called her a stupid idiot." Sara nodded.

"William, if you bite me one more time, I swear! And now go and pick up your backpack!" They heard Rory´s voice from the entry, followed by some muffled sounds and another scream of pain from Rory.

"William!" Luke yelled,put the twins on the ground and stomped out of the kitchen.

**TBC**


	14. Needs

I have to leave for a few days and I m not sure if I´ll be able to update there, I give you this now and not on the week-end as I in genral do.Hope this won´t put a damper on your reviews. I would be grateful if you would give me some for this chapter, because it is a very important one.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Needs**

"William, what do you think you´re doing? Stop it right now!" Luke yelled when he saw Rory leaning over to pick up William´s bag, and Will pulling at her hair while she tried to stop him. William froze and took his hands out of Rory´s hair immediately. It was very rare that his father yelled in such an angry tone at him.

"God, you´re not a kid, you´re a five year old devil!" Rory yelled at him and pushed him away from her.

"Rory, stop it! The same goes for you!" Luke also yelled at her.

"What? This little brat is attacking me and I should just stand still? You can´t be serious!" Rory shot back. Lorelai had joined them, but not before sending the twins upstairs to get ready for their bath.

"William is not a brat!" She said and William ran to her and hugged her legs, while he buried his head in her stomach.

"No? What else? He insulted me, he spit at me, he kicked me, he yelled at me, he threw stuff at me and made me bleed and finally he bit me. That´s what I call a spoiled brat without any upbringing." Rory told Lorelai very upset.

"You pulled at my arm and you called me a jerk first!" William yelled at her before he hid his face again.

"You two are completely nuts! You will go upstairs into your rooms and think about what you´ve done and I won´t hear a thing, or see you again until dinner. And afterwards I think the four of us will have a little talk!" Luke said and his voice was trembling with rage. William ran upstairs immediately, crying.

"You can not send me to my room! First because I don´t have one and second because I am twenty-six!" Rory told Luke.

"Then go into one of the twins' rooms and don´t tell me what I can or can´t do! I am your father and if I tell you that you are to go to your room you will go!" Luke yelled. Rory gasped, but then hurried upstairs into one of the twins' bedrooms. He was out of breath and watched Rory hurry up the stairs. Lorelai picked up William's backpack from the floor and then stroked over Luke´s back.

"You realize that you just grounded my twenty-six year old daughter." Lorelai remarked dryly.

Luke stared for a few more seconds at the stairs, then he turned towards his wife. He saw the small smile on her face and at first it confused him, but then he also grinned.

"Seems like I did." He said and they both started laughing.

"You wanna be the good cop or the bad cop?" Lorelai asked when they had calmed down.

"Huh?" Luke said confused.

"You wanna be the bad one and go and bath the twins or you wanna be the good one and go and soothe William and Rory?" Lorelai smiled.

"I can´t deal with them at the moment, because I think they are both completely nuts! William is acting like a devil and Rory is acting like a five year old." Luke said and Lorelai felt a rant coming.

"Okay, so you're the bad one and I´m the good and pretty one. As always!" Lorelai smiled and did her famous hair-flip.

"Of course!" Luke only smiled, slung his arm around her waist, and together they walked upstairs.

* * *

Luke walked into into Laila´s room where he found all three girls, the twins already only in their bathrobes.

"Hey, you two, come on let´s get you into the bathtub." Luke said.

"Daddy, why is Rory mad at you?" Laila wanted to know, while Rory was sitting on a bed and pretended to be reading.

"Because I sent her up to her room." Luke answered.

"But this is my room!" Laila told him.

"I know, but Rory doesn´t have a room."

"And why did you send her to Laila´s room?" Sara wanted to know.

"Because she was acting immature and was arguing with William." At this Rory huffed.

"What is im...immatule?" Laila asked.

"Immature, is the word princess. It means that an adult is acting like a little baby." Luke said, looked at Rory and then walked into the bathroom with his daughters. Sara suddenly started to laugh.

"Does Rory need a pacifier and diapers then?" She giggled and Laila joined her.

"Oh you two are clowns, you know that?" Luke had to smile.

"No, we are pretty princesses" Laila smiled and Luke just had to kiss them both, because they were too cute, which he would never say, of course.

* * *

Lorelai meanwhile went into William´s room and found him crying on his bed.

"Hey honey, can I come in?" She asked and walked in when he remained silent. She sat beside him on the bed and rubbed his back.

"Will, come on calm down. It´s not that bad that you have to stay in your room. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Daddy yelled at me because of her! He never yells at me like that!" William sniffed and crawled into his mother´s lap.

"He didn´t yell at you because of Rory, but because you were biting and pulling on her hair." Lorelai told him calmly.

"She pulled on my arm first!" He protested.

"We will talk about that later, okay? I think you should also take a bath or shower before dinner." She stroked over his hair and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Okay." He mumbled and dried his eyes on her shoulder.

"You get your pajamas and underwear and undress and I will be back in a sec´." She gave him a little smile, stood up and walked into Laila´s room.

"What are you reading?" She asked Rory who still sat on the bed.

"You don´t really wanna talk about the book that I am reading! Let´s talk about what Luke is thinking talking to me like that!" Rory said upset.

"Like what?" Lorelai played dumb.

"Like I am four and he can send me up to my room." Rory clarified.

"It might have to do with the fact, that you acted like a four year old. And I don´t know if you realized it, but you are in your room, which means he is still able to do it!" Lorelai grinned.

"You think that´s funny? No one other than you ever sent me to my room." Rory complained.

"No one other than me was around. That´s the disadvantage of having a father who is around." Lorelai still smiled and sat down on the bed.

"It´s strange. Before it was only us fighting, but not you ganging up with your husband against me. You were always on my side."

"I am not ganging up on you with him. But William has a huge problem with you and I told you and I warned you. It might have been selfish sending him away with you. Luke had this uneasy feeling all morning. I think he knew that something like that was going to happen." Lorelai sighed.

"Then why did you... oh no, I think I don´t want to know." Rory said when she saw the naughty smile on Lorelai´s face and the realization dawned on her.

"Well, let´s just say we made very good use of the time alone. And now what are you reading?" Lorelai grinned and took the book out of Rory´s hands.

"Winnie the Pooh? You´re reading Pooh-bear stories?" She started to laugh.

"Well, there´s nothing around and because I am not allowed to go downstairs and grab one of my own books..." Rory waved with the book.

"Well, I can´t help you with that, Luke spoke and so it will be. Enjoy!" Lorelai laughed and left the room.

* * *

Back in William´s room, he was already waiting for her.

"Hey, you naked frog, have you seen my cute son?" Lorelai asked him.

"I am not cute!" William protested.

"No, you are a naked frog, they aren´t cute. But my son William is very cute" She grinned and took his pajamas.

"Mommy, I am not cute." He said pointedly with his hands on his hips.

"That´s what I said, Mr. Frog.!" She laughed. William ran to her and slung his arms around her middle.

"Mommy, I am not a frog, I am just naked because you told me that I have to take a shower." He explained.

"Oh right, there you are! Then let´s get you into the shower." She smiled, placed a kiss on his hair and together they walked into the bathroom where Luke was dressing the twins.

"My, my girls, aren´t we pretty?" Lorelai smiled when she saw them.

"Mommy, can I get nail polish?" Laila asked.

"Maybe after dinner." Lorelai answered and helped William into the tub.

"These two are too young for nail polish." Luke grumped.

"I love you even more when you´re that grumpy, honey." Lorelai laughed.

* * *

The twins discussed their nail polish issues with Lorelai during dinner, William babbled about Meeko and why he didn´t like carrots, and Luke and Rory remained silent.

Afterwards Luke tidied up and Lorelai went into the living room with the kids, waiting for him.

William stayed close to her the whole time and made it so that Rory couldn´t get near her, so Rory played with the twins.

When Luke came, he sat beside Lorelai, took William and placed him in his lap, and kissed his cheek.

Rory knew that the big talk was coming and also sat down on the couch.

"Hey you two, why don´t you go upstairs and check out mommy´s nail polish in the bathroom. You can decide which one you would like, but don´t open them without me!" Lorelai told the twins and they ran upstairs.

Silence followed and Lorelai was the one to break it.

"Maybe the two of you should just explain one after the other what happened today and why you acted like that." She said with raised eyebrows and looked at Rory.

"When we drove to the park, William insisted on sitting in the front seat, so I let him. Then he played with the radio, made the music blast and I told him to stop it. But instead he turned up the volume. When we arrived he walked extra slow and I was scared that he would get lost. When we arrived at the slides it was always the same: We wanted to move on to the next, but he kept running away, so I tried to pull him with me. I grabbed his arm and he pretended to be hurt and screamed. An elderly lady came and bought him a popsicle, and suddenly he grinned at me. He kept provoking me the whole time. He spit, he insulted me, he kicked me, and finally he gave me this nice scratch on my cheek. And don´t tell me that he didn´t know what he was doing, because he knew!" Rory said and shot William an angry glare.

"And what did you do?" Luke sighed.

"Me? I tried to keep him under control, which is impossible, because he has no upbringing and no respect." She said.

"Rory!" Lorelai warned her.

"What? I mean let´s face it: He is a spoiled brat. He is like Samara, torturing others for his own fun!" Rory said upset.

"You´re comparing you´re little brother to Samara? I don´t think he called you and said 'seven days'!" Lorelai said.

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked angrily.

"Samara.. the ring...seven days and then you´re gonna die! A movie Luke!"

"I don´t think this is about a stupid movie, but more about the fact that he," He looked at William.

"Seems to have completely forgotten anything we told him about his hitting, spitting, and kicking. You listen to me son and I will say it for the last time now: You will not hit, kick, spit, pull on hair, insult, or damage other people in any way. Do you hear me?" Luke asked William.

"But she pulled at my arm and she called me a jerk!" William started to cry.

"Do you hear me?" Luke asked and held William tight, when he started to squirm.

"Yes." William mumbled then.

"And you will not insult your brother. He is not a crazy murderer and he isn´t a spoiled brat, like you said. And if he is, then he is just as much one as you are."

"What?" Rory shrieked. Luke put William on the floor.

"William go upstairs and look after your sisters." Luke told him and William ran off. Lorelai looked from Rory to Luke and she had no idea what would come.

"I have been observing this for too long now and I have had enough! You´ve always been like a daughter to me and I love you just as much, you know that. When you freaked out after our marriage and after William was born, I thought that was normal and a one-time thing. Boy, was I wrong. I am so fed up with your behavior, that I don´t even want to look at you! At first you move back into our house, just to move back out when it got a little louder. I said nothing to that, but it was clear, that three little kids won´t be exactly quiet. You barge into our house anytime you want, sometimes with Logan or even more friends, expecting us to drop everything and just be there for you. I never said anything to that either. You call in the middle of the night, waking the whole house up, whenever you want and whenever something happened, and the drunken calls in between don´t make it better. You decide when you have time, you decide when you visit, you decide when you call, you decide everything, because we are always there. You act like it is still only you and your mother and you are still sixteen. But we have three little kids now, Rory, three. And while I was rotating together with your grandmother over the last year, to somehow deal with the fact that your mother had lost her mind, I never saw you once stopping by to help or even to ask how we were doing. The only occasion on which I saw you was to wallow and to block our TV while you were keeping Lorelai from her kids and from me. The rare time she was not working she spent with you, and only with you. You weren´t interested in your siblings, or me, or your mother, you were only interested in yourself. But this isn´t how a family works. It´s about being there for each other and caring for each other, not everybody doing that for only one family member. I never expected a thank-you from you, that I picked you up more than once in the middle of the night at a party, because you and Logan were too drunk to drive. I never expected it for the meals I cooked you or the coffee I made in the middle of the night, although I had to work the next morning. But I´ve had enough of that. You ran away to London, not even asking how we felt about that, just to be with Logan, who had already cheated on you repeatedly. We told you to leave him, but you didn´t listen. Again you called only when you had problems and made Lorelai worry, but when we needed you we couldn´t reach you, or you were busy and hung up on us.

And now that the kids finally have their mother back and for themselves for the first time, you barge in here in the middle of the night, wake us up, start fighting with William, and tell us what bad parents we are? William is jealous and hurt. And because he is five years old, for gods sake, he doesn´t know how to deal with that other than acting the way he does. I would have hoped for a little more sensibility on your side, but obviously I asked for too much. I should have known. I know that you are hurting about Logan and I know that you need a friend and you need to talk to your mother. But if I shove aside your needs, like you always do with ours, and put the needs of the three upstairs first, then I have to tell you: It would be better if you would leave again. We need time for each other, time for the kids, and time to put this family back together. If you don´t want to work on that, because you have different needs, then go!" Luke finished his angry rant. Lorelai and Rory were both staring at him; Rory with tears in her eyes and Lorelai was just speechless.

"I never thought that you would talk to me like that. I always thought of you as a father, but I was wrong. You are the father of my three siblings and nothing more. My father wouldn´t talk to me like that!" Rory then sobbed.

"I talk to you like that because I am your father, otherwise I would just throw you out!" Luke said.

Rory burst in tears and ran upstairs.

"Luke!" Lorelai said after another minute of silence. She sounded surprised, shocked, angry, and curious at the same time.

"I think I will go for a walk. I will be back when the three have to go to bed." Luke said and left the house.

**TBC**


	15. Beach in the house

**So it took me a whileto update this time, but my laptop isn´t working the way it should and I didn´t have access to the internet for a week and some other things are still not running. I think it´s a virus. Any way I hope it´ll be fixed on Thursday when a guy from university comes and looks at it. Because it´s exam time at university next week and the week after it might take some time again for me to update! But this way you have time to leave reviews ; )

* * *

****Chapter 15: Beach in the house**

Lorelai needed a few minutes to absorb what had just happened before she finally understood it.

At first she wanted to yell at Luke for speaking to Rory the way he had done, but the longer she thought about it, the clearer it became for her that this wasn´t only about Rory´s behavior, but just as much about her own. She knew that Luke had been hurt and had missed her during the last year, but she hadn´t been aware that it had affected him that much.

She sat in the living-room and at some point she remembered his words.

"_You know I can´t remember a single occasion during the last year when it was important if I understood or tolerated your actions. And that´s okay, it´s just me! It´s not important if I understand."_

"_But don´t stand here and want me to understand and help! You made your bed, now lie in it!"_

"_I mean, I have everything covered it´s not like it would change anything if you come home late at night and leave in the early morning hours or not. I would miss you sleeping next to me, yes, but I´m talking about the kids and their routine now."_

"_He held up a mirror in front of you, and showed you what you´re doing to him. Showed you how you hurt him. And, honestly, I can understand him."_

"_It hurt me to always tell them that you would not come home, that you wouldn´t be there. They were so disappointed and sometimes I just failed. I yelled at them, because I missed you too. I took my bad mood out on them." _

His sentences flew around in her head and she could have kicked herself.

"God, I´m such an idiot!" She sighed, shook her head, and buried it in her hands for some time.

Then she walked upstairs and found the kids in the bathroom.

* * *

All of her nail polish bottles were lined up on the bathroom floor and Sara, Laila, and William were lying in front of it, discussing the colors.

"Mommy, can men also paint their nails?" Sara asked.

"Sure, David Beckham does it all the time." Lorelai said and sat down next to them.

"See, I told you!" Sara grinned at William.

"I don´t wanna paint my nails. Daddy never paints his nails." William scoffed.

"Oh yes, his toe nails, all the time." Lorelai grinned.

"You´re lying. Where is daddy?" William said.

"Uh, um, he... he went for a walk." Lorelai told him.

"Mommy, is Rory leaving now?" Laila asked.

"Why whould Rory be leaving?" Lorelai asked innocently.

"Because daddy yelled at her that she should leave." Laila told her.

"You heard your daddy´s little rant, huh? Obviously these walls are not as sound-proof as we thought they were. Thank god for the little interruptions at night." Lorelai muttered the last part.

"Do you want Rory to leave?" She asked them then.

"Yes!" William yelled immediately.

"Well, your answer I knew, but what about you two, sweeties? Do you want Rory to leave?" She looked at the girls and they looked down. Then Sara spoke up.

"Mommy, always when Rory comes you have no time for us. And playing on the beach with you and daddy was fun and then she comes and Daddy is yelling and William is crying. I want her to leave." She said.

"Me too." Laila admitted. Lorelai looked at them and her eyes teared up. This was all her fault.

"You know Rory and Logan had some trouble and that´s why she thought it would be nice to have some fun with us. I will talk with your daddy when he comes back and if he wants to then I will ask Rory to leave, okay?" Lorelai tried to smile at them.

"Okay." They agreed.

"Mommy, can you paint my nails purple?" Sara asked a second later and the topic was dropped.

"Sure. But only your toe nails, otherwise your daddy will kill me." Lorelai said and opened the nail polish.

After every toe nail was painted, except William's, it was bedtime for the kids and Lorelai became worried when she had finished the story and Luke still wasn´t back. She brought William, Laila, and Sara into their rooms and tucked them in. She found Rory in Sara´s room and gestured for her to follow her outside.

She closed the door behind her and together they walked downstairs and into the kitchen because it was the farthest from the stairs.

* * *

"Listen Rory, I know you´re upset and I know that not everything that Luke said was true..."

"Not everything?"

"and I want you to know that his rant was not totally directed towards you. The last year obviously affected Luke more than we both thought and at least half the stuff he told you he should have directed at me. I´m sorry for that and please don´t be too angry with him. I´m sure he will apologize as soon as he has calmed down a bit." Lorelai said and rubbed Rory´s right arm.

"It really hurt what he said. Am I really that selfish?" Rory asked quietly.

"Well I can´t say that you did a lot for our family and your relationship with your sisters isn´t really outstanding and the one with Will is ... well, let´s be honest: it´s a nightmare. But this is just as much my fault as it is yours if not even more so. I´m sorry I put you in this position." Lorelai sighed.

"It´s okay. But you said you didn´t agree with all of what Luke said, so you agreed with some of it?" Rory asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, yeah. You can´t deny that you still call me in the middle of the night, that you only stop by if you want something or need something even if it is just for Luke to cook you some decent food."

Rory gasped.

"That´s not true!" She said.

"Rory, I think you argued enough with us for today and I don´t want to get into this now. I have to find Luke. And because you did it so often over the years: Keep an eye on your siblings, they are supposed to stay in their beds. And no blood-bath until we are back!" Lorelai ordered with some sarcasm in her voice and left the house.

* * *

She didn´t really know where to look first, so she walked into the city-center and searched there for him, maybe he had grabbed a beer or something. But he didn´t. It was already dark when she came back from her trip to the city so she walked through the house to be sure he wasn´t already back before she walked into the garden, to the pool, and then down to the beach.

From some distance she could see him sitting on the cold sand, staring at the sea, and relieve flooded her, although she wasn´t sure why.

"Hey." She said quietly and stroked over his hair.

"Hey" He said and turned his head. She stroked over his cap-less head for some time, before she sat down beside him.

"I´m sorry." She said after another minute of silence.

"Hm?" He said and looked at her.

"I´m sorry. I´m sorry for leaving you alone with the kids. I´m sorry for not being there. I´m sorry for not listening to you. I´m sorry for neglecting you." She explained.

"Lorel..." He started but she interrupted him.

"No, please listen. While I was sitting in the living room today, after your outburst, snippits of what you said a week ago came back to me. I was worried about the kids and about losing their trust and their love. I apologized a thousand times to Will, but never really to you. You are important to me. Your opinion is important to me. It matters, you matter. Don´t hide yourself behind the kids, because you are just as important, we are just as important, Luke." She told him and he resumed staring out at the sea.

"Luke, please look at me." She requested and placed her hand on his stubbly cheek. Slowly he turned his head.

"I missed you, too. So much, honey." She said, barely audible over the crashing waves. Luke remained silent and looked her in the eyes, as if to see if she was telling the truth. Then he pulled her to him and hugged her. He buried his head in the crook of her neck. From time to time he placed some kisses on her skin, but held her tight.

"I´m sorry. I shouldn´t have yelled at Rory, because it´s not as bad as..." He started and she placed a finger on his lips.

"Sshhh." She shushed him and smiled before she kissed him. The kiss remained slow and romantic, but he pulled her in his lap at some point.

"Luke?" Lorelai whispered and pulled back after a few minutes.

"Yeah?" He whispered back.

"Hold me for a while?" She asked. He just smiled and opened his legs for her to sit in between. She turned around and leaned her back against his chest. He leaned against one of the rocks and slung both arms around her, to pull her tightly against him. She played with his fingers and stroked over his arms while they both listened to the sounds of the waves and looked out at the sea for a long time.

* * *

After nearly half an hour Lorelai turned her head and looked up at him. He had his nose buried in her hair and his eyes closed. She pulled her head away and he opened his eyes. She smiled up at him and he returned her smile and placed a kiss on her nose. Lorelai pressed her lips against his chin one time and then a second time before she captured his lips with hers. Her tongue teased his bottom-lip for some time before he opened his mouth and allowed her entrance.

Without breaking apart, Lorelai turned around and straddled him again. The kiss was just as slow as the one before, and had nothing to do with the heated kisses from the entire day. One of his hands caressed her face, while the other played with her curls. Her hands were busy unbuttoning his shirt and then taking it off of him. She kissed down his throat, over his shoulders, to his chest where she drew circles with her tongue and grazed his skin. When she made her way back up, their lips found each other again and Luke took off her blue top. It was chilly at the beach, and so she pressed herself even tighter against his warm body when the cold air touched her skin. He slung his arms around her again and lay her slowly down on the sand, staring into her eyes while doing so.

She smiled up at him, kissed him with a bit more passion, unbuckled his belt, opened his zipper, and tried to pull his jeans down. When it didn´t work the way she wanted she pushed him off of her and rolled them over. She kneeled beside him just to pull his jeans off and then lay down on top of him, pressing herself against him. They kissed again and Luke caressed her back, then he hooked his fingers in her skirt and pulled it down as far as he could. His hands stroked back up her back and opened the clasp of her bra.

He rolled them over again, sand from his hair rained down on Lorelai´s skin, and caused her to giggle. She stopped when he took her skirt off completely and kissed down her legs in the process. He took her cold feet in his warm hands for a few seconds and placed a kiss on each toe before he made his way back up to her. He placed kisses on her stomach and she laughed, his stubble tickled her skin. Her laughs subsided when he took her bra off and placed his lips on her own...

* * *

"I think the shower earlier was a waste of water, because now I have sand in all kinds of inappropriate places!" Lorelai laughed a while later and put her shirt back on. Luke only pulled her to him and kissed her again.

"Maybe it´s not that bad." She grinned and he nodded.

When he had buttoned his shirt and they had found her flip-flops they slung their arms around each other and made their way back up to the house.

"I can´t believe we did it again!" Luke suddenly laughed and stroked some sand off of Lorelai´s cheek.

"After the last time I didn´t think I could ever convince you to do it again. Even if we conceived Will that night." She also laughed.

"You´re still convinced about that? I thought we narrowed it down to some time during the honeymoon."

"I like the thought that it happened that night. At least the embarrassment would have been worth it!" She laughed.

They unlocked the front door and were greeted by all of their offspring.

"Mommy, Daddy!" The three kids yelled, ran towards them, and jumped up into their arms.

"What are you doing down here? You should be asleep by now!" Lorelai laughed when Sara kissed her cheek repeatedly.

"Where have you been? These three kept asking for their daddy to kiss them goodnight and we got worried."

"My oh my, seems like we are not allowed to leave the house for more than a few minutes." Lorelai smiled at Luke and gave Sara a big kiss.

"A few minutes? You were gone for more than two hours!" Rory shrieked, but Luke and Lorelai only smiled.

"Okay, bedtime for you three! And Rory I would like to talk to you when these three are in their beds." Luke announced and he and Lorelai walked towards the stairs with their kids in their arms.

"Geez, where have you guys been? You´re leaving a trail of sand behind you. The whole beach is on the floor in here!" They heard Rory´s voice when they walked up the stairs and both started to laugh.

**TBC**


	16. Jeffrey

**Another update which is a bit later than usual. I had my last exm yesterdayand spend today at the pool, it´s sooo hot here. But that´s only part of the story why I didn´t update. I waited for a few more reviews, but it seems you are already bored with this story or constantly busy, which I would understand. Anyway I have so mny chapters ready already that you just have to bear this, or stop reading, until I don´t get anymore reviews.**

**Last thing: _Laura,_ I tried to send you an email today because of the terms. I could need your help with them (I don´t want to explain this here, but I think you know what I am talking about).**

**And as always : Thanks to Rachel

* * *

****Chapter 16: Jeffrey**

After they had put the kids into their beds and kissed them goodnight, Lorelai walked into the bathroom to take another shower, the third that day.

Luke walked downstairs and found Rory in the living room on the couch, watching TV.

"We talked with Laila and she would be happy if you would sleep in the other bed in her room the next few days." Luke said and sat down next to her.

"That´s nice and I gladly accept the offer for tonight, but I will leave tomorrow." Rory answered. She didn´t sound angry. Hurt, maybe, but not angry.

"Rory, listen: I´m sorry I freaked out and I shouldn´t have yelled at you. But I am not going to take back what I said, at least not the basics, although part of the stuff I blamed you for, is not your fault, but your mother's. We talked about it and we´re good. And I don´t want you to leave, just because I lost it." He told her sincerely.

"I don´t know what exactly happened to make you freak out like that, but I understand part of it. I know I wasn´t there for you or the kids and I can´t blame anybody for the negative picture they have about me. I promise you, that I will work it out with you and them someday, but at the moment I just can´t deal with it. I need someone who is there for me. I called Paris and Lane while you were gone and I will fly back to Yale tomorrow and Paris and Lane are going to come over. We are going to have a girl's night, talk, gossip... "

"Eat lots of crap." Luke finished with a smile.

"Yeah, that too." Rory smiled back.

"Good night Rory." Luke said, then stood up, kissed her on the forehead, and went back up into the bedroom.

* * *

"And everything grey in pleasant-ville again?" Lorelai asked when he sat down on the bed beside her.

"Huh?" Luke asked confused, Lorelai giggled.

"Did she accept your apology?" She clarified.

"I think so, but she said she wants to go back to Yale tomorrow to spend time with Lane and Paris." Luke told her.

"Oh." Lorelai said disappointed.

"I´m sorry." Luke said as both of his hands dove into his hair, he closed his eyes and sighed. Lorelai rolled onto her stomach and moved closer to him. She took his hands in hers and gave them a squeeze.

"I never wanted to drive Rory out of the house, I´m really sorry." He told her again.

"You didn´t. I would have liked her to stay, but maybe it is better. We can spend some time with the three little one´s, they sure could use some undivided attention, at least from my side. From you, I don´t know, maybe they are sick of you already because they saw you so much during the last year." She grinned.

"Maybe. Maybe I should go and look for some blonde chick to spend the rest of my holidays with, while you are looking after the three monsters." Luke grinned back, which earned him a slap on the chest.

"Don´t you dare." Lorelai whispered and kissed him.

* * *

The next morning they were woken up by the ringing of the phone.

"Oh, no, who is that?" Lorelai mumbled and searched for the phone on the nightstand, with one hand and closed eyes. It took her some seconds to find it and, still with closed eyes, she answered it.

"Yeah?" She asked sleepily.

"Lorelai, I thought I taught you to never answer the phone this way." Emily´s voice came through the speaker.

"Was that it? Can I go back to sleep?" Lorelai yawned.

"If you give me Luke before you do then you can, I didn´t want to talk to you."

"You didn´t?" Lorelai asked, sat up and opened her eyes.

"No, I want to talk to Luke. Can you get him on the phone please?" Emily demanded.

"Luke, Luke! My mother's on the phone for you." Lorelai said and nudged him. He only held out his hand, still with closed eyes and took the phone from her.

"Good morning, Emily." Luke said sleepily.

"Good morning, Luke, I hope I didn´t wake you up." Emily said. Lorelai, who had put the speaker on, so that she could hear everything, huffed.

"It´s okay." Luke only said. Lorelai huffed again.

"Now as for the reason why I am calling. You remember I told you about Jeffrey?" She asked and Lorelai looked at Luke with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, I remember Jeffrey." Luke nodded and sat up.

"Who is Jeffrey?" Lorelai whispered to Luke, who just placed a finger over his lips to signal her to be quiet.

"He stopped by yesterday, with a huge... thing and then he stuck it in and made a mess." Emily explained and Lorelai burst into laughter. Luke grinned and placed his hand over her mouth.

"After he made that mess, he decided to get on top of the roof." Emily went on.

"Oh my god, this is beyond dirty! Who is Jeffrey? Her callboy?" Lorelai laughed.

"But when he left, after nearly three hours and an incredible mess, he didn´t fix it to my satisfaction and now I wanted to ask you if you could stop by when you get back and look at it?"Emily asked.

"Gross mom, he is my husband, I am not going to share!" Lorelai said loud enough for Emily to hear.

"What is she talking about Luke?" Emily asked.

"I have no idea." He lied and grinned at Lorelai.

"So could you stop by and fix it?" Emily asked again.

"Geez, mom, get dad some viagra." Lorelai whispered and Luke had to laugh.

"Yes, I will stop by as soon as we get back." Luke told her and they said their good-byes.

"Tell me that you are not having an affair with my mother." Lorelai said as soon as he hung up.

"I am not having an affair with your mother." He told her with a serious expression.

"But with her gardener or what?" Lorelai pouted and lay her upper body on top of his.

"Ah geez." was all Luke said before he kissed her.

"Good morning beautiful." He smiled when he pulled back.

"Luuuuke?" She pouted instead of returning his greeting.

"Yes?"

"Who is Jeffrey?" She wanted to know.

"That you want to know!" He only grinned and got out of the bed.

"Luuuke." She whined.

"I´m going to make breakfast, any special requests?" He asked and slipped on sweatpants and a shirt.

"Jeffrey?" She asked with a pout and puppy-eyes.

"I don´t know the recipe for that one." He said, kissed her again, and walked out of the bedroom.

* * *

Downstairs he found a notice on the kitchen door saying that Rory had already left and that she would call once they were back at Stars Hollow. Luke took the paper, sighed, and walked into the kitchen, where, to his big surprise, he found William coloring.

"Will, what are you doing in here? I thought we told you not to go into the kitchen alone." Luke said.

"But I wasn´t alone. I heard something and thought it was you, but it was only Rory and so I stayed here and superlized her so that she wouldn't set the kitchen on fire." William defended himself and Luke had to laugh.

"You mean you supervised her, Will. Good morning." Luke smiled and placed a kiss on William´s head.

"Morning daddy." William yawned.

"How long have you been up?" Luke wanted to know while he filled the coffee-machine.

"I don´t know. But I colored two Winnie-the-Poohs since Rory left." William told him and held up the coloring book for Luke to see.

"Really great Will. But why don´t you set the table while I make breakfast?" Luke suggested.

"Okay." William shrugged and went to work.

* * *

"Daddy?" William asked after some time. Luke was making the pancakes now and William placed the cups on the table.

"Mmh?"

"Did Rory leave because of me?" William wanted to know.

"Why are you asking?" Luke asked back. He didn´t really know what to say to that.

"Because I think mommy will be sad and maybe she will leave also. I was in the kitchen the whole time and watched Rory leave, because I thought maybe mommy wanted to go with her and I wanted to say bye." William admitted.

"Will, Rory left because because we talked to her and told her that you and your sisters are more important than anything else and that we want to have a nice time with you. And because she said that she needs someone who has a lot of time right now, we said that we can´t help her at the moment. She understood that and decided to go and spend some time with Paris and Lane, because she loves you too and wants you to be happy." Luke explained and hoped that William wouldn´t sense that he was not telling the truth a hundred percent.

"So mommy will stay with us here and not go to Rory or the hotel because I wasn´t behaving at the water-world?"

"Will, I think you know that your behavior towards Rory was not acceptable. I think you should apologize to her when you see her the next time, because she was very sad about that. And your mother will stay with us the whole time and she will be around more after we get back ."

"She said that?"

"She promised it."

"Do you believe her?"

"I believe her." Luke nodded.

"Okay, then I do too." William decided and nodded approvingly in Luke´s direction.

"Good." Luke said smiling and ruffled through William´s hair, then flipped the next pancake.

* * *

After William had woken up Lorelai and the twins, they all sat together and ate breakfast.

"Luke?" Lorelai asked.

"Mmh?" He grunted, knowing what was coming.

"Jeffrey?" She said with a pout and puppy eyes.

"Jeez, mommy, why are you saying Jeffrey every few seconds?" Laila asked annoyed.

"Because your grandmother is having an affair and your daddy knows it and he won´t tell me!" Lorelai yammered.

"What?" William asked shocked. He did not know what an affair was, but he knew that it wasn´t good.

"Don´t listen to your crazy mother, she doesn´t know what she is talking about." Luke told the kids and Lorelai´s pout got more extreme.

"Daddy what are we doing today?" Sara ignored her mother.

"Why are you asking your daddy?" Lorelai immediately asked.

"Because daddy decides." Sara shrugged.

"So not true! I have the power here and he is my willing slave." Lorelai said and laughed evily.

"You wish." was all Luke said and the kids laughed.

* * *

They spent the rest of their day on the beach. While they lay next to each other on their towels Lorelai whispered "Jeffrey" from time to time and no matter what Luke did, she wouldn´t stop.

"Okay that´s it!" Luke said annoyed after three hours and jumped up.

"What? No, Lukey please stay." She whined and grabbed his hand, to stop him from going back to the house.

"Then shut up already! I won´t let a stupid guy who tried to repair your mother's fireplace ruin my vacation!" He said.

"Ha! I win I win!" Lorelai laughed and rolled around in the sand, then suddenly stopped.

"What?" Luke asked smiling and sat down beside her again.

"I just remembered, that when we get back a week later there will be the chocolate festival, isn´t that great?" She smiled back.

"I am not going this year!" He told her.

"I bet you will." She grinned and kissed him.

**TBC**


	17. Mr Judge

We already got our exams back today, which we wrote on Tuesday, our prof was really fast this time. The grade was a lot better than I thought and to celebrate this I´m giving you this chapter!

I talked about a plan quite a few times and here it is: My master-plan (lol)

* * *

**Chapter 17: Mr. Judge**

When they arrived back in Stars Hollow a few days later, it was already late September, nearly October. In Stars Hollow it was a lot chillier than it had been on Martha´s Vineyard and Lorelai was disappointed that she had to cover her new tan with long-sleeved shirts.

It was raining a lot and the first weekend in October, when the chocolate festival should have taken place, there was such a heavy storm, that they had to delay it.

After some heated discussions, Luke and Lorelai had arranged new work schedules for both of them. Luke was able to work during the afternoon again, while Lorelai only worked until the afternoon every day and was home for the rest of the day. It meant, that she had to hire one more assistant but it was easier to let go than she had thought.

She enjoyed seeing William at his soccer training and she was surprised when she found out that the twins were both very talented ballerinas. She blamed Luke for the sportive success of their children, but was incredibly proud at the same time.

William was patient explaining the soccer rules to her, and the twins even tried to practice some steps with Lorelai, which Luke stopped out of fear, that she would break her ankle.

When Luke came home in the evening they still had enough time to read and play with their kids before they had to go to bed.

Free weekends were also part of the deal, and beside the Friday night dinners the family mostly stayed at home, went to the play ground, William´s soccer matches, or the twins' ballet shows, which Miss Patty held at least once a month.

They even had found the time to go out on a few dates, while Kirsten kept an eye on the kids.

Lorelai was happy and content. As happy and content as she couldn´t remember being in a long time, if ever. Everything was running smoothly and perfectly. They had finally, after six years, found the balance between parenthood, work, and their relationship.

* * *

It was the weekend after Rory´s birthday and finally the chocolate festival would take place. Lorelai was excited, even though Luke had sworn, that he wouldn´t give in this year and would not go. 

The evening before the big day, he still hadn´t give in and Lorelai was starting to believe, that he really wouldn´t go.

"Luke?" She asked in the middle of the night, because she knew that he was still awake.

"No." He said.

"What, you don´t know what I wanted to ask."

"I won´t go." He told her without her even asking.

"Turn around Luke." She ordered, because he was laying on his side and she was facing his back.

"What?" He groaned and turned around.

"Do you see that?" She asked and pointed to her lips.

"What?" He asked without opening his eyes.

"Open your eyes, Luke!" She nudged him and he obliged and opened his eyes.

"Now, do you see it? Do you see that pout? It will never ever leave my face again if you don´t go with us tomorrow." She said and her pout got bigger.

"Then I think, I will have to get used to it." Luke shrugged, kissed her, and turned around again.

"Luuukkeeee!" She whined and nudged his back several times again.

"Stop it and sleep. Otherwise you won´t go tomorrow either." He mumbled and slowly drifted off to sleep, with a pouting Lorelai next to him.

* * *

The festival was running and Luke still hadn´t given in. He was in the empty diner doing bills and enjoying the rare silence which surrounded him. Sometimes the constant chatter of his customers, his kids, and his wife exhausted him and from time to time he needed the silence. 

Before everything had gotten so stressful he had taken William fishing at least once a month, and he had the impression that the silent time alone, next to each other at the lake, brought them closer together than any talk ever could.

From his place behind the counter, he could see the festival around the gazebo. Lorelai had told him that it was unfair that although he wasn´t going he was still controlling their chocolate intake.

"Hey daddy." William interrupted his observation when he came into the diner.

"Hey Will. Enough chocolate already?" Luke asked. While William ate chocolate and all kinds of other sweets he always had enough at some point, it took Lorelai a lot of time to convince him to eat sweets, but she was very proud that she did.

"No, but I am thirsty and there is only hot chocolate, but I want some juice." William declared and climbed on a chair. Luke took a to go cup filled it with juice and handed it to William.

"Thank you daddy." The boy smiled.

"You´re welcome. How are your mother and your sisters holding up?"

"Rory is there also and they are eating a lot. And babbling a lot. They are annoying. And mommy is complaining about you." William told Luke.

"Is she yammering because I am not out there at this crazy festival?"

"Yes, and Laila and Sara, too. They are asking every five seconds when you will come out."

"Hey, you two! Will you won´t hide in here with this traitor! Come back out and eat some chocolate." Lorelai yelled when she burst through the door. William only had time to grab his cup with juice before she lifted him out of his chair and placed him back on the ground outside the diner. She went back in flipped the sign to closed and walked up to the counter where Luke was standing and watching her. She straightened, then flipped her hair while looking him in the eyes.

Then she walked around the counter, ignoring Luke´s raised eyebrows, and kissed him soundly.

Luke didn´t know what happened at first and was very surprised, but then he enjoyed it and pressed her against the counter.

"So, I am only allowed behind the counter to pleasure you!" She grinned when she broke the kiss.

"Yes, that way you can´t damage anything." He told her and pecked her on the lips.

"And what about the sack of potatoes that your are storing at a very weird place so it can fall on my head?" She played with his hair that stuck out under his cap.

"Then it would fall on both of our heads, so the insurance would have to pay." He grinned.

"So all you are thinking about while you are kissing me is the insurance policy?" She mocked him.

"Of course, nothing else on my mind, only money."

"That sentence made me sound like a hooker." She laughed and slapped his chest.

"So, are you having fun out there? Will told me Rory is out there too." He said without letting go of her.

"Yes, she spent some days with Paris and Lane at Yale, but now that Zach is back Lane invited her for the weekend."

"Any news from Logan?"

"He keeps calling her asking for another chance. You know what is crazy?" She asked.

"You?" He tried.

"Luke I am being serious for once." She complained.

"Oh, I´m sorry. And no, what is crazy?" He asked smiling and kissing her again before she could answer.

"I think he really loves her. He keeps cheating on her, but I am convinced that he really loves her. That is crazy." She clarified.

"That really is crazy." He agreed.

"But you´re a guy, can´t you understand it a bit? I´ve hoped that maybe you could explain it to me and I could explain it to Rory, without mentioning you and your experience, of course." She cocked her head to one side and waited for his answer.

Luke thought about it for a second, then grabbed her by the hips and sat her on the counter. He stood between her legs and put a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Mrs. Danes, I have a few questions for you. Are you prepared for the interrogation?" He joked, but with a straight face.

"Yes, Mr. Judge." She nodded.

"How long have we known each other?" He started his questioning.

"Mmmh, let me think about this... we´ve been friends for eight years, then we dated for about two years and we´ve been married for six years which makes a total of sixteen years, correct?"

"Correct. How many relationships did I have during this time?"

"You really wanna talk about your exes now?"

"Lorelai!" he said and rolled his eyes.

"There was Rachel and this Chilton-mom and Nicole and ...me." She grinned when she said the last part.

"Wrong." He said and shook his head.

"True!" She argued.

"Wrong, I never dated the Chilton mom and I told you so. If you wouldn´t bring her up every now and then I wouldn´t even remember her anymore."

"You really would have forgotten about her! I will never mention her ever again!" She nodded.

"Good. Now did I ever cheat on Rachel or Nicole?" He asked his next question.

"How would I know that? I wasn´t observing your sexual activities." The look from Luke was enough.

"No, you never cheated on them." She admitted then.

"What do I feel for you?" He continued.

"You love me?" She tried.

"A lot and you know that. So when we were in a relationship only, even during our short break, did I ever cheat on you?"

"No!" She said without hesitation.

"During our marriage, did I ever cheat on you?"

"No! Although, this thing with my mother is still giving me a little scare." She laughed then, remembering the phone call during their vacation.

"So to sum it up, I never cheated on anyone, correct?" He asked.

"Correct." She nodded, still giggling.

"So why the heck do you think I could possibly understand why this fool is cheating on her if her loves her?" He asked his last question with raised eyebrows. Lorelai laughed.

"What did you say about the crazy before?" She laughed and hugged him, then kissed him again.

"I really wish she would find somebody who loves her and acts like it." Luke sighed and placed her back on the ground.

"Luke please come out with me!" She begged then.

"No."

"I will even forget about the cup of coffee I am craving at the moment. Please come outside with me!" She grabbed both of his hands and forced him to look into her pouting face.

"Lorelai, I really don´t want to go out there. It´s crowded and noisy and Taylor is annoying and it´s a few minutes before they will get drunk out there because of Patty´s chocolate punch. I really don´t wanna see that." He sighed.

"They are already drunk. But please Luke, just for a few minutes. For me and for the kids. Sara and Laila keep asking about you. Don´t you want to spend some time with us before they have to go to bed? Just twenty minutes and then you can take us home and we can put the kids into their beds and watch a movie, play scrabble, go fishing, whatever you want to do, but please don´t make me remember the festival after I got my family back as the 'festival I had to spend without my husband'. Please, I miss you out there." She begged and Luke saw that she was serious. She really wanted him with her at the festival and not just to mock him.

"You´re being dramatic." He told her as a last try, but Lorelai could see his defense getting weaker.

"Pretty please with a cherry on top!" She pouted one last time and gave him the last push.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. But only twenty minutes and then I´m gone!" He pretended to be annoyed.

Lorelai beamed at him, hugged him, kissed him and then dragged him outside.

* * *

It took them a few minutes to find Rory and Laila, and Lorelai was already eating another chocolate covered banana. Of course, she couldn´t stop mocking Luke with it, but his only response was to tell her the minutes she had left at the festival. 

The first meeting with Rory was a bit awkward for him at first, but she was babbling and joking with Lorelai as always and he was glad his little outburst didn´t have any major consequences for their relationship.

"Okay, three minutes left. Where are Will and Sara?" Luke asked.

"Will is with Davey and Martha at Sookie´s booth and Sara is still begging the fortune-teller over there to give her some of those pralines." Rory answered and pointed to a booth next to the crossing.

"I´m gonna get her, then we´re picking up Will on our way home, be ready in two minutes!" Luke grinned, kissed Lorelai and marched off towards Sara.

"Oh these crazy fools." Patty laughed when he walked by and pointed towards a group of youths and their cars. They were drinking while arguing with Taylor, who had already called the cops. Luke only shook his head at their craziness and hoped that William and the twins would discover alcohol way past their thirties.

"Mommy, where is daddy?" Laila asked and tugged at Lorelai's jacket.

"Are you cold? He is over there picking..." She didn´t get any further with her explanation, because her eyes widened at the sight.

While Luke was walking towards Sara the kids had had enough of Taylor´s lecture and drove off. One car wasn´t driving on the streets, but over the sidewalk, where Sara was still concentrating on the fortune-telling machine.

"Sara!" She heard Luke yell while he was running to his daughter. Then he grabbed her, turned around and protected her with his body, seconds before the car crashed into him.

The citizens of Stars Hollow saw how the car hit Luke, who still held Sara in front of him. They heard his scream, saw them flying up in the air before they crashed down onto the street.

The city was silent, shocked, and unable to process what had just happened.

They all stood there, staring at the limp bodies on the street, unable to react. Until Lorelai screamed.

**TBC and Reviews are highly apreciated**


	18. Don´t go there doll

**I know that it is evil, but I hope you´re still reading this. If you are, please leave a review.**

**Short message bto Rachel: Did I already send you 19 and 20!

* * *

****Chapter 18: Don´t go there, doll!**

The second Lorelai´s piercing scream echoed over the gazebo people started running. Running towards the car, which had finally stopped after crashing into an empty booth. Running towards Luke and Sara.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Laila´s and William´s screams joined Lorelai´s. Sookie held back William and Rory had taken Laila in her arms without thinking about it. There were audible gasps when the first people reached Luke and Sara, and started to examine them.

Lorelai started running, she wanted to see her daughter, she wanted to see her husband, see that they were fine, that they were breathing and alive.

When she reached the crowd that had formed around the two people on the street, Babette held her back.

"Don´t go there doll. It´s not a plea... just don´t go there." She told her and started crying. That was the moment when Lorelai heard Sara whimper and she pulled her arm away from Babette and made her way through the crowd, frantically shoving the people aside.

She glanced at Luke, who lay on his stomach, people surrounding him, trying to get him into a stabile side position, but she didn´t see them. All she could see was the pool of blood in which his face lay. He didn´t make a sound, not even a whimper. She looked away quickly and rushed to her daughter.

Sara was lying a few meters away from Luke on her back. Her right leg was twisted in a weird way, blood covered her face, while she was staring into the direction of her father, mumbling something barely above a whisper.

"Sara, Sara!" Lorelai yelled and kneeled down beside her and stroked her curls from her face.

"Sara look at me!" She demanded, but Sara kept staring in the direction where Luke lay. Lorelai leaned forward, placed a kiss on her bloody forehead and understood for the first time that Sara was repeating "Daddy, Daddy" the whole time. Her voice got weaker and weaker and although Lorelai tried to get her attention, she didn´t succeed. Sara´s whispering stopped, her eyes closed.

"Sara." Lorelai screamed when the girl slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

The next few minutes passed in a blur. The paramedics arrived only a minute after the accident, and Lorelai stayed at her daughter´s side the whole time. She was relieved when they told her, that Sara was only unconscious. When they put her on the stretcher Lorelai dared to look at Luke for the first time.

They had turned him around, intubated him, and hooked him up to several infusions and machines. His face was covered in blood and Lorelai doubted that he had any left inside of him. She heard that they asked for a helicopter, because he wouldn´t survive a long transport. While the paramedics put Sara into the ambulance Lorelai went over to him, but didn´t dare to touch him.

"Cardiac arrest, defibrillator!" The doctor suddenly yelled and they shoved Lorelai aside, while they worked on Luke.

"No! Luke!" She whispered and stared at the scene in front of her.

"Mam, would you like to come with your daughter?" One of the paramedics asked, and snapped her out of her daze.

"Yes, but Luke... my husband." She stammered helplessly.

"You can´t do anything for him. But your daughter is awake again, she needs you." He told her and led her towards the ambulance, while she kept glancing over her shoulder to the team of people surrounding Luke.

When she sat down in the ambulance she remembered Laila and William, so she stood up and walked to the still open back door.

"Will? Laila?" She yelled. Rory ran up to her and hugged her for some seconds.

"Sookie and I have got it covered. I will come with my own car. Now go!" She said to her mother, hugged her again, with tears running down her cheeks and then stepped away from the ambulance, so they could leave.

The medication they gave Sara against the pain worked quickly and she calmed down a bit. But still the only thing she mumbled from time to time was the word "daddy." Lorelai didn´t get her to respond to her questions, her soothing talk, or her caresses.

Lorelai felt torn. She knew that Sara needed her, but how could she take care of her daughter when she didn´t know if her husband was dead or alive?

* * *

At the hospital they rushed Sara into an emergency room, asked Lorelai to fill out some papers and sign some stuff, which she was barely able to do. They took x-rays of nearly every part of Sara´s body, and performed ultrasounds and several other tests.

Lorelai was pacing in front of the emergency room door, trying to get a glance inside, but wasn´t successful.

After nearly an hour a doctor came out to talk with her.

"Mrs. Danes?" He asked. She only nodded, her lips pressed tightly together.

"I´m Doctor Anderson. I examined your daughter. I think I will give you the good news first: Her life isn´t in danger. She has a concussion, several jolted ribs, a broken wrist, some scratches, a wound on the head that needed some stiches. Now the bad news: We need to operate on her because she broke her leg in a very complicated way and we need to fix it, put some screws or nails in. But she is young and injuries usually heal well at that age. Does your daughter have any allergies you know of ?" He asked then.

"No, I don´t know... she never needed anything, no stiches, no narcosis, nothing." Lorelai shook her head.

"Okay, then we will operate on her right now. I think we will need around two hours and it would be good if you are here when she wakes up. We need your permission to operate her, would you sign it?" He asked her and held out a paper which a nurse had given him. Lorelai numbly nodded, took the pen and signed, without even reading what she was signing.

"Would like to see your daughter before we bring her into the operating room?" The doctor asked her. She nodded and walked inside the emergency room. Sara looked dazed, and didn´t really realize that her mother was with her. She kept staring at a point on the wall and Lorelai doubted that she did really see her.

"Hey baby. They have to fix your leg, because this isn´t healthy. I will be there when you wake up, okay? I love you, honey." She said and placed another tender kiss on her daughter's forehead. Sara didn´t react.

"Be good and see you in two hours." Lorelai said, kissed Sara a last time before they wheeled her out of the room and into the elevator. The doctor followed the bed with the little girl in, but before he could step into the elevator, Lorelai held him back.

"Do you know anything about my husband? He was in the accident also." Lorelai asked with hopeful eyes.

"I´m sorry, I don´t know anything. Maybe the nurse will be able to help you." The doctor said and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he stepped into the elevator and the door closed behind him.

Lorelai immediately walked to the information desk, hopeful that they would know how Luke was, but scared about the answer at the same time.

"Sorry, but can you tell me where my husband is and how he is? His name is Luke, Luke Danes, he was in the same accident as my daughter." She said, trying to hold up her composure.

"I´m sorry, I don´t know. But adults and children are checked in at two different stations here. I will inform you as soon as I get any information." The nurse answered politely.

"Isn´t there any possibility to... I don´t know... call someone who knows?" Lorelai asked upset.

"I´m afraid there isn´t. You have to wait, Mrs. Danes." The nurse told her and left the desk and walked into one of the emergency rooms.

Helplessly Lorelai stood there, not knowing what she should or could do. She needed to know what was wrong with Luke, she couldn´t bare this uncertainty anymore and still it seemed like there was nothing she could do.

She took some brochures from the desk, fiddled nervously with them, then placed them back.

* * *

"Lorelai." She suddenly heard a voice, a voice she knew.

"Mom." Lorelai said and turned around. The moment she saw her parents she began to sob uncontrollably. She threw herself into her mother's arms and cried and even Emily and Richard had tears in their eyes.

"What is wrong with Sara and Luke?" Richard asked, while he stood beside his wife and their crying daughter.

"They are operating on Sara´s leg at the moment. It will take two hours and she needs nails or screws or something like that. She has a broken wrist, a concussion, and several smaller injuries, but she will be fine." Lorelai pressed out and was able to stop crying.

"And what´s wrong with Luke?" Richard took Emily´s free hand when Lorelai burst into tears again.

"I don´t know. Nobody here knows. They said they needed a helicopter and then his heart stopped and they had to resuscitate him. I don´t know if they succeeded or not. I don´t know and everything is my fault. He didn´t wanted to go. I convinced him to, he shouldn´t have left the diner and none of this would have happened. Maybe he is dead..." Her voice broke and she wasn´t able to speak anymore.

"Lorelai, none of this is your fault. I will go and see if I can find out anything. Emily, I will send you a nurse to give her something to calm down." Richard said and marched off.

"Come on, Lorey. We will sit down and wait for your father." Emily said in a gentle voice, placed a kiss on Lorelai's hair, and led her to the chairs.

"If he´s dead it´s my fault. I killed my husband." Lorelai sobbed.

"I´m sure he will be fine. Luke is strong, he will make it." Emily reassured her.

"Why are you here?" Lorelai asked and looked up from her hands in her lap she had been fixating on. Emily understood what she meant.

"Sookie called us. She said she was taking care of William and Laila together with Rory, but she was worried about you and told us where we would find you." Emily explained and tucked a strand of Lorelai´s hair behind her ear.

"Thank you mommy." Lorelai whispered and lay her head on her mother's shoulder and grabbed her hands. Sobs still shook her body every few seconds and Emily was relieved when the nurse came.

At first Lorelai refused to take anything, but after Emily reassured her that they would wake her as soon as they would know anything she agreed and took the pill. Within a minute she was asleep on her mother's shoulder.

* * *

Richard came back half an hour later and by the look on his face Emily knew that he didn´t have any good news.

"Is he...?" She couldn´t say it out loud. Richard sighed and sat down beside her.

"No, at least he was alive when they checked him in. I talked to John and he said it doesn´t look good. He has very serious injuries, I can´t even remember them all because the list was so long. The most serious I think are his collapsed lung, the kidneys are both damaged, they have to take out a part of his liver, and he has an injury on the head. They don´t know how much his brain is damaged, but John told me that even if he survives, the chances that he will fully recover, meaning he won´t be disabled in any way, are very low. But they can only tell for sure if he survives the operation, which would be a miracle by itself because of his internal bleeding and the high amount of blood he lost."

"Oh god, Richard." Emily chocked out, her eyes filled with tears which slowly rolled down her cheeks. Richard hugged her to him and held her for a few moments.

"I promised to wake her up when we have some news." Emily said when she pulled away.

"Let her sleep. We will wake her up when Sara comes out of the operating room or we get some news on Luke. I told John to call me immediately." Richard decided.

"Then we should lay her down. If she stays this way she will have a crook in the neck when she wakes up." Emily said and took a deep breath.

Richard stood up and held Lorelai while Emily took his former chair. Carefully Richard lay Lorelai down, so that her head was lying in her mother's lap. Lorelai stirred and for some seconds they thought she would wake up.

"No... Luke." She mumbled and looked pained in her sleep.

"Shhh, Lorey, sleep." Emily whispered, placed a kiss on her forehead, and stroked over her daughter's curls, like she had done when she had been a little girl.

**TBC**


	19. Her rock

**So, anouncement: First I want to tell you all that I am sorry for making this hard for you to read, but there is sense behind it and I hope you'll all see it in the end.**

**Second: There were some complaints about the "Lorey" comment, to that I can only say that in the first story there is an explanation for it. I tend to going back to things I wrote before.

* * *

****Chapter 19: Her rock**

"Lorelai, Lorelai, wake up." Emily said two hours later, nudging Lorelai's shoulder, trying to wake her up.

"Mmh." was the only sound Lorelai made.

"Lorelai, Sara is back from the operation." Emily said.

"Sara? Operation?" her daughter asked, still half asleep.

"Oh my god, Luke! Do you know something about him? Is he alive?" She asked and jumped up. Emily shot Richard a questioning look which clearly said 'Should we tell her.'

"He is in the operating room, that´s all we know." Richard answered and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Come on, let´s go and see Sara." Emily said, stood up, and stretched.

"But Luke." Lorelai whispered, although she allowed Richard to pull her up.

"John will call me when there is anything new." He assured her and led her to the room the nurse had told them Sara would be in.

* * *

Lorelai took a deep breath before she followed her parents into the hospital room. She knew that she had to be strong for her daughter who needed her, but be she felt like she couldn't be, not without Luke. If only Sara had been in the accident, it would be hard enough, but at least Luke would have been there. But now without him by her side, without her rock, she wasn´t sure how to make it through the situation. He couldn´t die, he just had to be alright, because without him she couldn´t live.

"Hey baby." Lorelai whispered when she stood beside Sara's bed. She was still asleep, but was starting to wake up. Lorelai sat down on the bed, beside her daughter and stroked over her face. She was pale, had several bruises, and band-aids on her face, some with stitches underneath. Sara whimpered and slowly opened her eyes. When they were fully open, her eyes couldn´t seem to focus on anything, she kept glancing around quickly, without moving her head. Then tears sprang to her eyes and rolled down over her cheeks, but she didn´t make a sound.

"Baby are you hurting? What is hurting you, honey?" Lorelai asked concerned and placed a hand on her cheek, forcing Sara to look at her. But Sara remained silent.

"It´s okay, mommy is here. Don´t worry you´ll feel better very soon, I promise." Lorelai tried to soothe her, but Sara didn´t react.

Richard and Emily, who stood on the other side of the bed, shared a worried look.

"Look at that huge cast you have on your leg. You will be the star at pre-school and everyone can write or paint something on it. We even can put some stickers and fake tattoos on it, cool huh?" Lorelai tried again, but Sara´s look drifted up to the ceiling over her and stayed there.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep again twenty minutes later, while Lorelai played with her curls, caressed her face, and placed random kisses on her cheeks and forehead, always careful not to hurt her.

* * *

"Is she asleep again?" The doctor asked when he entered the room another fifteen minutes later, which had passed in complete silence.

"Yes she is, but doctor something is wrong with her. She couldn´t seem to focus on anything and kept glancing around the room without saying a single word. You´re sure you have everything covered and there isn´t something wrong with her brain?" Emily asked worried while Lorelai didn´t look up until the doctor finished his answer.

"It could be the concussion, but let´s not forget that she was just in a horrible accident and not only did she get hurt, which would be traumatic enough, but also her father got hurt and she saw it." Lorelai pressed her hand to her mouth, while her eyes filled with tears at the mention of Luke. She had managed to ban all thoughts of him while she was with Sara, but now it hit her full force again.

"Which means?" Richard asked.

"I think she´s in shock and it will probably take a few days before she will get better. But it´s a normal reaction to such an accident and I wouldn´t worry so much. The operation went very well and we fixed her leg and took care of her wounds. Because of her ribs and her concussion she should stay in bed and move as little as possible. We will give her something against the pain when she´s awake again, because sleep is the best thing now and I don´t want to wake her up. Mrs. Danes if you want we can bring in another bed so that you can spend the night" He asked.

"Yeah, okay, but... I don´t know. I have two kids at home and I don´t know how they are and I´m sure they need me as well. And Rory is probably also freaked out and needs me and can´t look after her siblings. And then the Inn, I need someone to cover for me and I need to make a new plan. And, oh my god, the diner! Someone needs to close the diner and open it in the morning. And they also need a new plan, but I have no idea how to do it. Maybe Lane knows, or Cesar, I need to call them. I... I can´t stay, I have so much to do. I don´t... I don´t know where to start. I can´t do this! I can´t do this alone. I need Luke!" Lorelai rambled and then started to sob, her voice broke.

Emily rounded the bed with big steps and took Lorelai in her arms again, this gesture helped Lorelai to compose herself.  
"Doctor bring the bed, I am sure we will need it." Richard said and the doctor nodded and left the room.

"Lorelai, I will go to Stars Hollow and look after William and Laila and I will arrange something with Rory. We will take care of them, don´t worry. I will also inform Sookie and she will arrange everything at the Inn and don´t worry about the diner. I will get it covered and if I have to serve the customers myself I will. You will stay here and look after your daughter. Emily, I will give you my cell phone so that you will know when John calls. And try to get some sleep you two!" He said, and handed Emily his cell phone before he left.

"Lorelai, do you want some coffee?" Emily asked and pulled away from her crying daughter. Lorelai shook her head.

"Something to eat?" Lorelai shook her head again and tried to stop the tears from falling from her eyes.

"Maybe you want some..." Emily started, but Lorelai stopped her.

"Mom, the only thing I want is to wake up from this nightmare and find me in my bed with my husband sleeping beside me and my kids in their beds, all as healthy as they were this morning." She said in a low and trembling voice.

"Everything will be fine." Emily said, because she didn´t know what else to say.

"I can´t lose him, mom." Lorelai sniffed.

"I´m going to get some coffee. I will bring you one." Emily said and left the room. She took a shaking breath, but couldn't stop the tears. She leaned against the door to Sara's room.

"God, why her? Why did you have to do it to her? Doesn´t she have the right to be happy? She was unhappy for most of her life and you have no right to take the one person from her she needs beside her children. You have no right to let Luke die!" Emily argued with fate and God himself, before she was able to compose herself and walked off to get some coffee.

* * *

When Emily was gone Lorelai paced through the small room and tried to distract herself from the horrible thoughts which had entered her mind; thoughts of a life alone, without Luke. Pictures of his funeral, what she would do with the diner...

When Richard's cell phone rang, which Emily had left in the room, Lorelai didn´t know what to do. She was anxious to know what was wrong with Luke, but scared at the same time.

When Sara started fidgeting in her sleep Lorelai knew she had to answer the phone, otherwise the ringing would wake her daughter up.

"Lorelai Danes." She answered.

"Lorelai, hello this is John." She heard from the other side and took in a sharp breath.

"Are you still there?" He asked when he didn´t get an answer.

"How is he?" She pressed out and closed her eyes, scared of the answer.

"There were some complications during the first part of the operation, because his heart stopped again. But they got him back and he is doing fine now, but they are still operating on him."

"What ... will he... how bad is it?" She asked.

"Richard didn´t tell you?"

"He only told me that they are operating him, that´s all I know. Nobody is telling me anything!" She yelled the last part and Sara stirred. Lorelai walked over to her daughter and stroked over her hair to calm her.

"He has some very serious injuries Lorelai. He has a collapsed lung because of a broken rib which went through the right part of his lung. His kidneys and his liver are damaged. He has severe internal bleeding because of all of this. His right hip is broken on top. He has a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist, and several smaller things like bruises, cuts, and scratches. They are operating him still and succeeded to stop the internal bleeding, at least by taking out a part of his liver, for example."

"What does that mean?" Lorelai barely whispered.

"His lung will heal with time, as will the broken bones he has. For the kidneys we just have to wait and hope that they will recover, otherwise he will need a transplant. But there is another thing." He said and waited, but didn´t get an answer.

"He has some injuries on his head and we can´t tell at the moment if his brain is damaged. The first test was okay, no bleeding, but we won't be able to tell until he wakes up, not sooner."

Lorelai felt numb. She pressed the cell phone to her ear and waited for him to go on. When he didn´t she needed some seconds to take everything in before she could talk again.

"So that means that even if he survives this, he will not fully recover?" She asked.

"We don´t know. It is possible that he will wake up later and everything will be fine. But I won´t lie to you, Lorelai, it is possible that your husband will be disabled without any chance of recovering."

"How high is the chance that he will be fine and not disabled or dead?"

"Around five percent, from what we know now. A bit higher if he survives the operation and the first night."

The word 'disabled' repeated itself in her head and she started to feel dizzy. The cell phone fell out of her hand and, luckily, landed on the bed. Lorelai didn´t even realize that it was no longer in her hand and just stared ahead, while the word was getting louder and louder. She gripped the edge of the bed to keep herself from crumbling to the floor.

"Lorelai? Lorelai!" Emily yelled when she entered the room and found her daughter staring blankly ahead, without reacting to Emily´s rant about that coffee-maker. Lorelai was as white as a sheet and her whole body shook, her teeth clattering. Emily led her daughter to a chair and pushed her down on it.

"You knew it." was the first thing Lorelai said after another five minutes.

"What?" Emily asked surprised, both, by the question and by her daughter speaking and breaking the silence.

"You knew it and didn´t tell me. You promised to tell me when there would be any news. You lied, you lied to me and kept me in the dark about the fact that my husband has internal bleeding and nearly all of his bones are broken. You didn´t tell me that he probably won´t make it or could be disabled. Five percent mom! Five percent! That is how high his chances are to fully recover! And you knew it and didn´t tell me!" Lorelai yelled and furiously wiped away the tears which spilled.

"We didn´t want to worry you more than you already were. Please, Lorelai, we would have told you when the time was right." Emily defended herself, but in a gentle tone.

"When the time was right? At his funeral or what?" Lorelai screamed.

"Lorelai, this is not the right place or the right time to argue. You will wake up Sara." Emily said a bit louder.

"I need to get out of here." was the only thing Lorelai said before she hurried out of the room.

* * *

She ran out of the hospital and wandered through the park. It was already dawn and the sun was rising. She sat down on a bench and cried. She was shaking, sobbing, bawling, cursing and begging, but she didn´t feel any better. She got a headache out of it, but nothing else. She wasn´t a religious person, but at six o´clock in the morning, after she had calmed down a bit, she started to pray. She prayed for her daughter, for her husband, her kids all together and for her whole family. She prayed that she would still have one when this would be all over.

"Do you mind if I sit?" a voice startled her and she turned around to find Kirsten behind her. Lorelai shook her head.

"When this... accident happened then I also sat in the park of the hospital for hours. It was too crowded in there and I felt like I couldn´t breathe." Kirsten said and handed Lorelai a cup of coffee and a bag with a croissant.

"You need it. Sara and Luke need you, you can´t get sick. Eat something."

"I feel sick." Lorelai said and cleared her voice.

"I know." Kirsten, took the croissant out of the bag and handed it to Lorelai.

"He probably won´t make it. Maybe he died already while I have been sitting here."

"He won´t die."

"Your husband died."

"Luke won´t die. He is the most stubborn person I know and he knows that you and the kids need him. He will make it. Just wait." Lorelai nodded.

"Why are you here?" She asked Kirsten then.

"Your father called me and told me what happened. I jumped out of bed and thought you might need someone besides family. Someone from outside." Kirsten shrugged.

"Sorry my dad woke you up."

"It´s okay."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Ready to go back inside?" Kirsten asked. Lorelai only nodded and stood up and together they walked back into the hospital.

**TBC**


	20. Not him

**Sorry for the long wait. but my laptop is back now and here is the next chapter. And there is a problem with the pargraph lines in thís document editor, I will fix the formating when possible.**

**Chapter 20: Not him**

When they arrived back inside, Lorelai felt ashamed that she had left Sara alone for so long and she immediately sat down on Sara's bed, observing her daughter.

"She slept right through. They gave her the medicine against the pain through the IV, so they didn´t need to wake her up." Emily told her quietly.

"Your father and Rory packed some stuff for Sara, Luke, and you it's in the bag over there. It's just some clothes and toiletries." Kirsten said after another moment of silence.

"Did John call again?" Lorelai asked Emily and bit down on her lip.

"He called a few minutes ago and said that the operation will be over soon and that he will call again when they are finished. Luke is doing fine." Emily said and tried a little smile, to reassure Lorelai.

"I think I will change and freshen up, and then change Sara out of this smelly hospital gown, while I´m waiting for news." Lorelai sighed.

"I will go and ask a nurse if that is okay." Emily said and was out of the room before Lorelai could say another word.

Lorelai lifted herself up slowly and felt like an old woman. Her back was aching, like the rest of her body, and every step exhausted her. The last time she had felt like this, she had been pregnant with the twins, but then Luke had been there to carry her around and attend to her every wish. Tears came into her eyes once again and she was surprised that she had any left after last night.

The face in the bathroom mirror didn't look like her own; it was swollen and ugly, with deep dark circles around her eyes, which were puffy and red. If Luke could see her like this he would be shocked. She needed to fix this, because she didn´t want to scare him when he came out of the operating room. She found some jeans and a blue shirt in the bag, as well as her make-up and water-proof mascara. She thanked Rory silently for knowing her so well, brushed her teeth, and blew her nose before she emerged out of the bathroom.

"You´re looking better." Kirsten told her and Lorelai tried to smile back, but wasn´t really succeeding.

"Mrs. Danes, your mother told me that you want to change Sara. That´s okay, you just have to be careful with the IV and try not to move her leg." The doctor said when he came through the door that second.

"Oh really, I thought I could just rip off the IV and her cast!" Lorelai snapped aggressively, before she looked down, ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry." She told him quietly.

"It´s okay, I know that this is a very difficult time for you, but I also have good news. Dr. John Lionel called me and told me that your husband is out of the operating room and you can go and see him." Lorelai threw Sara's nightgown on the bed and froze. Luke was alive.

"Go, I'll change her." Kirsten told her and shoved her in the direction of the door.

When Lorelai stepped outside, the doctor right behind her, she found her mother on a chair next to the door, a tissue pressed to her mouth, to quiet the sobs.

"Luke is out of the operating room. He is alive, mom." Lorelai told her while she rushed past, and missed the new flood of tears from Emily's eyes, this time out of relief.

John already awaited her in front of the intensive care unit.

"Is he already awake?" She asked him hopefully.

"No" The doctor shook his head.

"When will he wake up?" She wanted to know and grabbed his arm.

"Lorelai, I think we should sit down for a second." He said and led her to some chairs which stood nearby.

"What´s wrong?" She started to panic again.

"Lorelai, I already told you that your husband has very serious injuries. It is a miracle that he survived this operation, after all the complications and his severe injuries. He is still far from being stable and the next 24 hours are very critical. He had two cardiac arrests in the last twelve hours and his lung is not working the way it should. Because of this and the extreme pain he would be feeling the doctors decided to put him into an artificial coma."

"What? Why?"

"Because it is better for him and helps him to recover, because otherwise his whole body would be in a constant alarm situation because of all his injuries and his heart couldn´t take it. He can´t breath on his own and he needs non-stop supervision, which means that he is hooked up to several machines. I just want to prepare you for this, because it isn´t a pleasant sight. If you want to you can go in now." He said and squeezed her hand.

"But if he´s in a coma he doesn´t even know that I´m here." Lorelai whispered.

"Nobody knows how much people in a coma know about their surroundings, but I am sure he can hear you. He needs you. When you´re in there he knows what he´s fighting for."

"Or he gets upset because it´s my fault he is lying there. I... I really shouldn´t go in there." Lorelai cried self conscious again.

"Lorelai, he needs you. Go in there. I don´t know what happened, but I can´t imagine you would ever do something like this to your husband and your daughter willingly, so this is not your fault! Now go." He pulled her up and before she knew what had happened she stood in Luke´s room, wearing one of his green gowns herself.

Luke´s legs were covered with a blanket, but around his hip she saw that they had put him in a strange plaster-construction. His upper body wasn´t covered or clothed, but she could barely see anything under all the wires and tubes. He had several bandages, casts, and band aids on nearly all parts of his body. His face, or what she could see of it, was swollen, slightly blue, and covered with scratches. There was another bandage around his forehead and his nose and mouth were covered by the intubations.

Lorelai stood in shock next to the door for a few minutes, taking him in and listening to the several beeping sounds in the room.

When she walked over to the side, where she could at least make out his hand under the bandage, she tried to see something familiar in the person lying in front of her, but she couldn´t. Her husband was strong, beautiful, healthy... this wasn´t him.

With her index finger she stroked over one of his fingers that came out of the bandage, when she found the courage after another couple of minutes.

"God Luke, what have I done?" She asked him with a quivering voice, while her tears dropped on his hand.

"I´m so sorry, so sorry, I should be laying here, not you." She cried, when her knees gave in and she kneeled next to him on the floor, pressing her face to his fingers.

She had no idea how long she sat next to him on the floor, sobbing and mumbling apologies, but at some point she realized that someone pulled her up and led her out of the room, before everything went dark around her.

"Lorelai? Lorelai?" Emily´s voice came to her ears when she slowly regained consciousness.

"Mom?" She asked with a raspy voice.

"Thank god, you´re awake again." Emily exclaimed and pressed a kiss on Lorelai´s cheek, which surprised her.

"What happened?" Lorelai asked and sat up, realizing, that she too lay in a hospital bed, her feet propped up on some pillows.

"You broke down in Luke´s room and became unconscious when they led you out."

"They put him in a coma, mom. He looks horrible! His face is swollen and blue and without the name tag on his bed you don´t even recognize him." Lorelai told Emily, who took her hand.

"Lorelai, I know this is hard and that you feel horrible and that you´re worried, but you have to take care of yourself. While Luke is in such a bad state, the kids need you even more. I know how you´re feeling, but please, sleep for awhile, then eat something and compose yourself!" Emily begged.

"You know how I feel? You have no idea how I am feeling at the moment! My husband might die and I might never see him alive and healthy again. I am so scared I can´t think straight! How would you know how I am feeling? You never had to worry about anything, other than when dad had some little problems with his heart." Lorelai suddenly yelled.

"All right, obviously the fact that my only daughter ran away at 17, with her baby, and we didn´t know if she was dead or alive for weeks, doesn´t put me in the position of understanding, because it didn´t affect me a bit back then! I only lay in bed for weeks, crying my eyes out, because I thought I would never see them again." Emily yelled right back and they stared at each other.

"Mrs. Danes, you are awake again. Very good, because so is your daughter. We tried to give her something to eat, but she wouldn´t. Maybe you could try it?" A nurse, who entered the room, asked.

"Yes sure." Lorelai nodded and slowly stood up. She walked past Emily towards the door, then stopped, turned around and came back to her mother, who was still staring at the empty bed.

"I'm sorry, but... help me mom. I don´t know how to get through this. I need you." Lorelai whispered when she hugged Emily suddenly. Emily held her close and gave her a squeeze before they walked into Sara´s room together, where Kirsten was reading a story to the girl.

"Good morning, my angel. The nurse told me you were awake, which is great because I am hungry and we can have breakfast together." Lorelai greeted Sara with fake joy in her voice and hoped her daughter wouldn´t notice. She kissed her, careful not to hurt her.

"Wow, look you have bread with honey. Here, one peace for Mommy..." Lorelai said, sat down on the bed, and held a piece of bread in front of Sara´s mouth. The girl didn´t react.

"Sara, come on. Eat this little piece, for me, pretty please!" Lorelai pouted and tried to cover the fear which arose in her chest when her daughter still wasn´t reacting.  
"Sara, you need to eat to get healthy. What do you think your daddy will say when he visits you and you´re not eating? Come on babe... one piece for your daddy!" Lorelai said quieter this time, it hurt to speak about Luke and the pictures from just minutes before popped up in her head.

Sara didn´t move any part of her body other than her eyes. For the first time since the accident she looked at Lorelai before she slowly opened her mouth.

Lorelai succeeded to feed Sara most of the slice of bread and ate the rest herself, to please her own mother, who sat on a chair beside the windows and chatted quietly with Kirsten.

When there was a knock on the door all looked up surprised and before anyone could say a word the door was pushed open and William ran in. He threw himself into his mother's arms and instinctively she pressed him against her without thinking about it.

When William pulled back a bit and looked at her she realized that he wasn´t crying, like she had thought.

"Mommy, are you okay?" He asked and stroked over her cheek.

"I´m fine Will. Don´t worry about me, okay? I´m fine."

"Mommy, Rory told us that daddy will need time to get better, but don´t worry I will help you. I will be the man of the house as long as daddy isn´t home." He assured her and wiped away the few tears, which had spilled from her eyes once again.

"Oh Will..." She mumbled and buried her face in her son's shoulder.

"Mom?" Rory asked and stroked over her mother's hair after she had greeted Sara without getting a reaction from her.

"Rory, you´re here?" Lorelai tried to smile, but failed.

"Yeah, Laila is still with Sookie, but William insisted on coming here and seeing you, Sara, and Dad."

"It´s okay," Lorelai nodded and kissed William's hair.

"Mommy, can we go and see daddy?" He asked.

"Honey, your daddy is asleep and he will be for awhile because the doctors gave him a sleeping pill, so he won´t feel the pain from his injuries.You will have to wait a while before you can go and visit him." Lorelai explained. William thought about it then nodded.

"Okay," He agreed.

"Mom, we thought you might want to get home for some time and look after Laila, she is pretty freaked out and cried the whole night, although William tried to soothe her. And grandpa needs you to decide some stuff."

"I can´t. I need to stay here." Lorelai refused.

"Lorelai, go, take your son home and take care of Laila. We will stay here and if there is any news we will call you immediately." Emily jumped in.

"Come on, I´ll drive you." Kirsten spoke up also.

"Baby, you heard them, but mommy will be back very soon." Lorelai told Sara and took William´s hand. Before they reached the door, William ran back to Sara.

"I brought you piggy!" He told her, pulled the little pink pig out of his jacket pocket and laid it on top of Sara.

"Bye Sara!" He said and ran back to Lorelai, grabbed her hand and led her out the door, to the parking lot.

**TBC**


	21. Help out

Okay, guys, I don't know if this chapter is betaed or not. If not I hope that Rachel reads this and sends me the betaed version again, cause I can't find it anymore.

**Chapter 21: Help out**

****

The first stop for the three of them back at Stars Hollow was Sookie's house to pick up Laila.

"Hey, you're back" Sookie greeted them and hugged Lorelai. Lorelai returned the hug shortly, but when she felt that her emotions were going to overwhelm her once again she pulled back, trying to keep everything in.

"Where is Laila?" Lorelai asked and by the look on Sookie's face she knew that her friend knew that she was seconds away from crying once again.

"She is asleep in the living-room. She cried the whole night and fell asleep just an hour ago on the couch. I didn't want to risk waking her, so I let her sleep there." Sookie explained while she walked behind Lorelai into the living-room.

Lorelai picked up Laila carefully a kissed the girl's forehead, while Laila snuggled up to her mother, but stayed asleep.

"How are Sara and Luke?" Sookie whispered and picked up Laila's stuff and handed it to William and Kirsten.

"Sara is okay, they operated her leg and she is still in shock, but she will be alright. Luke on the other hand... the put him into artificial coma for now, because his injuries are so serious." Lorelai whispered back without any emotions in her voice.

"I think we should get you home" Kirsten jumped in and shared a concerned look with Sookie.

"Bye Sookie and Thank you" Lorelai whispered before she walked out.

"Anytime. Call me when you need something"

"I will. And we have to talk because of the Inn"

"Don't worry about it. Everything is covered. You go and care for your daughter and your husband" Sookie reassured her.

"Thanks" Lorelai said quietly and walked back to the car.

Lorelai didn't even think about putting Laila in her own bed, but placed her immediately in her and Luke's bed, before she changed and lay down beside her. She was exhausted but the knot in her stomach didn't let her fall asleep. She tossed and turned, but she couldn't sleep.

"Mommy?" she heard Williams voice after an hour and turned around once more to face him, while he was standing beside her side of the bed.

"Yeah?" she asked and opened her eyes.

"Move a bit" William said and Lorelai obliged. William climbed in the bed and over Lorelai, lay down beside Lorelai and Laila.

"I am the man now. Lay your head on my chest, mommy. Just like you do with daddy. As long as he's asleep I'm going to help out" he declared. As sad as it was, it made Lorelai smile.

"Will, my head is way to heavy for your little chest. You couldn't breathe anymore if I lay my head on your chest" she told him quietly.

"Mommy, I'm five, I'm not a baby anymore. Come on, lay your head here" he said and tapped on his chest. Lorelai kissed him first, then lay her head carefully on his little chest.

"You can put the full weight on me mommy. I am the man now" he assured her and started to stroke her hair, like Luke always did. Lorelai took a shaky breath, then closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

She awoke hours later, it was already dark outside, because she felt someone leaning over her. She sat up abruptly.

"Geez, dad, dont scare me like that!" she said when she saw who it was.

"I thought you are asleep" Richard said.

"I was" she groaned and got out of the bed, careful not to wake William or Laila, who were still asleep. Richard and Lorelai walked out of the bedroom and downstairs into the living-room where they sat down on the couch.

"So..." Lorelai said, not really knowing what there was to say in a situation like this.

"I talked with Sookie and she will arrange everything at the Inn. I also talked to Mr. Cesar at the diner and he will also cover it together with Lane. But there is something I need to talk with you about" Richard broke the silence.

"What?" Lorelai asked, panic in her voice.

"Lorelai we need to talk about your financial situation" Richard said.

"What? Dad, I dont think this is the time"

"It might seem strange for you, but we need to talk bout it, Lorelai. I will arrange everything, but I need to know some details before I can do something." he said.

"Like...?"

"How much of Luke's and Sara's therapy are covered by your insurance? Can you afford it to pay the best therapies, because they need to get the best therapies. And then: Do you have enough money to live without Luke's income? Can you afford hiring more staff at the Inn and the Diner? "

"Dad stop it. I can't deal with that now"

"Lorelai this is important. If Luke has to stay in hospital for some time and then go through physic therapy you will need money and I want to know that you're covered. Does Luke have an insurance for a situation like this? Do you have any savings?"

"I think we can cover the costs for the additional staff in the diner and the Inn. I dont know yet how much of the insurance will pay for Luke and Sara and I don't know if we get any money from this stupid idiot who nearly killed my daughter and my husband. Could you take care of that? Your agency made the insurances."

"Of course, I will go and check your policies."

"And we don't have any savings. I mean we're having savings but they are for the kids school and College later. Luke would kill me if I use them for anything beside that."

"Thats good. One more thing covered."

"So can we end this talk now?" she asked

"Lorelai, I know it is hard, but I have to ask you: Does Luke have a life insurance?"

"Luke won't die"

"Lorelai, please!"

"he won't die! He can't die! I need him here and not only because of the money he provides. I need him, the kids need him and he knows that. He wouldn't dare to die and leave me alone with this mess here! So forget about the fucking life insurance, because he won't die!" Lorelai yelled at Richard.

"You don't want to hear it and I wish I wouldn't have to talk with you about it, but he might be disabled or die and you have to think about all possibilities, even the worst case scenario, so that you can deal with it when it happens" Richard tried to reason with her.

"I could never deal with losing Luke, no matter how much life-insurance policies he has. If he dies, I don't want to live anymore either" she said very quietly.

"Don't talk like that, Lorelai!" Richard said shocked, stood up and sat beside her on the couch before he took her hands in his.

"If he dies it's my fault and if he doesn't get the chance to see his kids growing up, then I don't deserve it." she said without emotion, just staring blankly ahead.

"Lorelai, no matter what happens with Luke, the kids need you. And Luke wants you to be there for them."

"If I killed their father the would hate me at one point or the other. Maybe I would deserve it, but losing Luke would be unbearable, but when I would lose my kids as well I have no reason to live anymore. And Luke surely doesn't want me to look after them anymore. I did this to him and to Sara, I am not capable of looking after them, that's a proven fact now. If he wakes up I m sure the first thing he requests is divorce" she said in the same monotone voice.

"Stop this nonsense, Lorelai! This accident wasn't your fault and i really don't know where you got the idea from that it was. A trunken eighteen year old drove a truck and caused this. This is not your fault!" Richard said forcefully.

"I convinced him to come outside. He didn't want to. It's my fault!" Lorelai insisted.

"What would have happened if he was still inside? This drunken fool would have crashed into Sara and she would have been dead for sure. And this would have been your fault also? Or Luke's?" Richard shot back and Lorelai remained silent, focused on their joined hands.

After Richard had left Lorelai didn't really know what to do with her time. The kids were still asleep and she had nothing to do, but couldn't concentrate on anything on the other hand.

Several times she took the photos from the mantle and looked at them. She wished that only by looking at them she could go back to the exact situation and feel what she felt at that moment again, only to escape the hard reality.

There was one picture of William and Luke where they both lay in the bathtub. William was 2 and sitting on his father's knees.

"Will , you must take the foam and rub it into daddy's face" Lorelai giggled.

"Don't listen to your crazy mother. Daddy is not Santa, he doesn't need a beard." Luke said and glanced at Lorelai.

"-eerd daddy" William giggled, took some foam and shoved it into Luke's face, missing his chin and stuffing it in his father's mouth.

"William, this is disgusting!" Luke said and made a face, causing Lorelai to laugh.

"You're so cute when you make a face like that" she laughed.

"Your fault!" Luke said accusingly and pointed at her.

"Yes, you faul, mommy!" William giggled.

"Oh, poor thing" she laughed, walked over to them, so that she stood beside the bathtub, leaned down and kissed Luke.

"Ew, you taste like foam" she said when she pulled back after not a whole second. Luke grinned, grabbed her with one arm around her waist and pulled her into he tub with them, fully clothed. When Lorelai came back up from under the water her face was covered with foam.

"See, William, now your mommy is playing Santa!" Luke laughed and William giggled with him.

Another picture showed her and Laila asleep on the couch, when the baby was barely half a year old. They were both covered with a blanket and Lorelai's left arm hang off the couch, while her right one held the baby tight.

"God, I am so tired" groaned Lorelai while she tried to rock Sara to sleep. William was asleep in their bed, while Laila and Sara kept crying. All three kids had the flue and Lorelai wasn't feeling well herself, but had send Luke to work nevertheless. Somehow she wanted to show him, that she could handle this alone. With Rory she had done everything alone. Luke had given up fighting with her and had gone to the diner three hours before and since then the kids kept crying. If not all of them then at least one.

So while William slept, the twins were awake and crying the whole time. She had problems nursing them, because of their stuffy noses and they were probably hungry.

"Shh, Sara sleep. Come on baby, mommy is tired as well and your sister needs me also" Lorelai sang and rocked the baby from side to side.

Half an hour later the situation hadn't changed a lot. Now the twins were both furiously crying, Lorelai along with them, while she tried to get them to nurse at least a bit, which seemed impossible.

When Luke appeared in the doorway that second he was like a vision to Lorelai, but at the same time she felt ashamed.

"They won't eat, they won't sleep and they keep crying." Lorelai sobbed helplessly while she sat in the rocking-chair with her open blouse.

Luke just shook his head, pecked her on the forehead before he took both babies from her.

"Go and lie down, I take over" he said.

"But they must be hungry or thirsty and they are still running a fever and…"

"You' re not looking so good yourself and you are no help when you are as upset as you are at the moment. Go and calm down, sleep a bit and don't worry." Luke assured her.

"But Will is sleeping in our bed and I don't want to wake him." She tried again and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.

"Then lay down in the living-room" Luke whispered because the twins started to nod off.

"But…"

"Haven't you learned a thing in the last three hours and four minutes? I am here Lorelai, you don't have to do this alone. And you're sick as well and not helping them a bit when you are so upset."

"You timed it?" was all she said.

"Of course, I did nothing else than sitting in the diner and debating with myself how long I should leave you alone with them. But since you are so stubborn I decided to do it the hard way. If I could I would have been here three hours ago" he told her with a little smile, which Lorelai returned. It felt so good that he was there now.

An hours later she heard steps on the stairs and turned her head to see Luke coming down with Sara.

"She's being stubborn again?" Lorelai asked him.

"I wonder where she got that from" Luke grinned.

"Come to mommy baby" Lorelai cooed and took Sara from Luke before she lay back down.

"You're feeling better?" he asked.

"My head is killing me and I am thirsty." She told him, while he caressed her cheek.

"Stay here I go and get you something to drink" he said and stood up.

"Hey Luke?" she said while she held him back on his hand, drew circle on the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Yeah?" he said with this low and sexy voice of his.

"Thank you"

"You don't have to thank me, we're in this together, remember!". He kissed the back of her hand before he walked into the kitchen.

When he came back Lorelai and Sara were both asleep.

Lorelai whipped the tears away that slowly dropped from her eyes on her hand when she heard something behind her and turned around. William stood in front of her.

"Mommy?" he asked, his lip quivering, his eyes full of tears.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Is daddy going to die?" he asked, his fears showing for the first time, now that he was still sleepy and not in his protector-mode. Lorelai didn't know what to tell at him at first and her first impulse was to tell him that everything would be good again.

"I don't know, Will. I don't know" she said then, hugging him to her and crying with him, and in the process the picture frame slipped from her hand and shattered without that she even realized it.

**TBC**


	22. Gut feeling

**Chapter 22: Gut feeling**

Two weeks later basically nothing had changed: Luke was still in an artificial coma, Sara was still in the hospital, William was still trying to be strong, Laila was more than whiny, and Lorelai was trying to cope, but kept falling apart every now and then.  
Against William's wish, Rory had moved back in at Lorelai's to take care of the kids while Lorelai spent nearly all day and night at the hospital, sitting on Luke's bed or trying to get Sara to speak.  
The girl still hadn't said a single word and now even the doctors, who had said before it was only the shock, started to worry.  
They had asked Lorelai to meet them in the office to talk some things through and although Lorelai knew she had to go, she felt like she didn't have the strength to decide on anything or listen to more bad news.

"Mrs. Danes we are worried about the fact that you haven't gotten your daughter to speak until now." the doctor started.  
"What does that mean ' I haven't gotten her to speak'? I spend day and night here at the hospital, but that doesn't change the fact that she was in a terrible car crash and saw her bleeding and injured father."  
"We know that, sorry, maybe I put it wrong. What I wanted to say is that we talked about your case and we all agreed that your daughter needs professional help."  
"Which means?" Lorelai asked, still a bit aggressive.  
" We advise you to consult a psychologist."  
"My daughter is not crazy, she does not need this."  
"This is not about being crazy or not, but a professional might be able to help get through to your daughter, to make her talk about what happened and to deal with it." Another doctor explained.  
"I am her mother and I love her more than my own life and I have tried anything and everything to get her to speak and to make her feel better. I am sure that my daughter loves me also. Maybe not as much as she loves my husband, because she is a daddy's girl, but I am sure she loves me. I am not Joan Crawford, I love my kids and I play with them and sing to them and read to them before they go to sleep at night. Well, not so much during the last year, because I was busy with my Inn and I neglected them, but Luke was there and he was amazing. I changed during the last month though and I tried to make it up to them and it seemed to work, because even Will trusts me again. But then this stupid accident happened and now everything is different again. But I can do this. I can get her to speak. I am a bad wife, but I am not a bad mother. Luke told me I am a great mother and I can do this, I know it. All I need is time. Please let me try this without a psychologist. If I can't get her to speak then I don't think some stranger can. Just… please, let me do this my way." Lorelai ranted and the doctors shared concerned looks throughout her rant. They knew that she was seconds away from breaking down, but she didn't let them help.  
"It is your decision, we can't make you get a psychologist see Sara. We can give you the advice to do it, but we won't force you. If you think that you can help your daughter, then we believe you." An older doctor said soothingly to calm the upset woman in his office.  
"Thank you." said Lorelai very quietly before she fled out of the office.

* * *

"Hey Luke, it's me again. Your annoying wife who comes her for several hours daily and bothers you with rants about stuff you don't know anything about." Lorelai said while she took Luke's hand and pressed small kisses on it and sat next to him on his bed. His appearance hadn't changed a lot since the first day he had been brought into the hospital, only some of the bandages weren't necessary anymore because the wounds had healed during those two weeks.  
But he still couldn't breathe on his own, he was still hooked up to all those machines and the annoying beeping sounds in the background hadn't changed either.  
"Today William got into another fight with Rory because he wanted to bring Laila to pre-school and wanted to make his breakfast by himself. He thinks he is a grown-up now and the man of the house because you are not there. But I told you this already. Every night he comes into our room and puts his arms around me, wants me to put my head on his chest, because he knows that this is the way we sleep. Me in your arms with my head on your chest. And while you are lying here, sleeping peacefully all day and night, I can't sleep for more than an hour, because then I wake up and look around, completely irritated and disorientated, before everything comes back to me and I understand that I am awake and not having a horrible nightmare.  
They are all trying to help me and arrange stuff, but at the same time they all want decisions from me that I can not make without you! What do I know about working shifts in the diner or insurance for your cook? Nothing. Probably as much as you know about the stuff at the Inn. But you could deal if you were in my situation, I know it, you would do better than I am. Cause you are the fix it guy. You would handle the diner and the Inn, the kids, Rory's arguments with Will, and you could get Sara to speak. I know you could.  
They want me to let a psychologist talk to her, but I am not ready for this. She is not ready for this. She is still shocked and apathetic and sad and not ready to talk with a complete stranger about what happened. She is four years old, how should she be able to process all this in this short time?  
But the doctors say that it might help her and although I do not want a psychologist to talk to her I am afraid at the same time that I am wrong. What if I am wrong and he could help her? What if I am doing the wrong thing? I need your advice, Luke. I need you to tell me what to do. You said that you are all in, and I know that I should have never dragged you out to this stupid festival and none of this would have happened, but please give me a sign, anything, to tell me what I should do!" She begged him desperately. But she got no reaction, other than the constant beeping of the machines.

* * *

When she emerged from the room after two hours she felt drained, exhausted, and as empty as before. The visits always made her sad because this was not really her husband and every visit reminded her that he might never come back. Outside or at home it was easy to lie to herself and believe that he would wake up any day and everything would be like before, but when she saw him lying in this bed, with all the machines around him, she knew that it wasn't that easy.

She dragged herself to the coffeemaker in one corner of the hallway, before she slowly made her way to Sara's room on the other side of the hospital.  
She could have taken the elevator, but the extreme hospital-smell in it always made her sick and she knew she would throw up if she had to use it again.  
So she slowly descended the stairs, down to the kid's station.  
"Hey Lorelai." A familiar voice suddenly startled her and she saw James sitting on a chair outside Sara's room.  
"Hey." She greeted him and he stood up and gave her a hug, before he pulled her down in the chair next to him.  
"I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier, but I was in Asia for business." He told her.  
"It's okay" She just said.  
"Andy is in the diner helping out and making a new plan for the next month." James told her then.  
"I know. He called me yesterday and asked if it is okay if he covers the diner as long as Luke is..still… you know."  
"How is he?"  
"Still in the artificial coma they put him in. They said they might try to get him out by the end of the day, but it depends on how his kidneys are doing. He might need a transplant. But the results will be in later on today."  
"This kid beat him up pretty bad, huh?"  
"He… he… crashed right into them and Luke turned around to protect Sara with his body. The car hit him at the height of his hip and they both flew through the air and crashed on the street. I heard him scream. I never heard anyone scream like that. I think that's what dea… that's what pain sounds like. And now he is lying there and sleeps and they have to wash him and turn him, but I am allowed to shave him at least. I know that he hates it and is embarrassed about it and I keep waiting for him to wake up and tell the nurse that he has been able to shower himself and brush his teeth and eat by himself since he was two, but he doesn't. He just.. doesn't wake up." She sniffed without tears. She had no more tears left.  
"He will wake up when they want him to wake up and then he will yell at the nurse to leave him alone and he will bug you to get him out of here as fast as possible. The moment will come for sure." James said and pulled her to him and lay his arm around her.  
"I hope so. I need him. Sara is not speaking and they want a psychologist to look after her and I don't know what to do."  
"Just trust your feeling. If you have the feeling that it would help her, then let the psychologist in, if your gut says 'no', then don't do it. I am sure Luke would do the same."  
"He always decided everything with his gut feeling. He had a gut feeling about who he would be comfortable to date." Lorelai smiled sadly.  
"I know. He told me he was comfortable around you after the first time he met you."  
"I gave him a horoscope the first time we met to make him give me coffee and he held on to it. The old thing is still in his wallet. He believes that it brings him luck."  
"It does. He got you and the kids. That's all he ever wanted."  
"And now he is lying there because of me. I think it brought him bad luck, but that's all. I nearly killed him and my daughter."  
"Don't say that. I am sure Luke would yell at you if he hears you talking such nonsense. This accident wasn't your fault and I am sure if the situation would come again and Luke would see a crazy drunk kid in a car driving towards his daughter he would react the same way over and over again without thinking about it for a second." James reassured her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.  
"Mrs. Danes, there you are! We were looking for you. The results for your husband are back and they will try to wake him up in a few minutes. I should tell you that you should come up to the intensive care unit again." A nurse said suddenly and was gone as fast as she came.  
"What are you waiting for?" James smiled and gave her shoulder another squeeze.  
"Come with me?" She barely whispered, because she knew she wouldn't find the way alone at this moment.  
"Sure." He said and led her to the stairs.

**TBC**


	23. Lucky girl

**Guys are you serious? nearly 900 clicks and 6 reviews? This is a joke, right! I mean, does this story suck that much? Then tell me and I will stop writing immediately, cause there is nothing worse than a bad story which never ends.**

**On the other hand I have nearly a thousand constant clicks on every chapter ... so I really don't know what to think about this. **

**So, we do it like this: You write me a review for this chapter, or at least tell me "stop writing" if it sucks. If I don't get any reviews because this story is not even worth mentioning to me to finish it already, I won't finish it and won't post any chapters, because then I can use my time for something different and so can you.**

**So here we go again:

* * *

****Chapter 23: Lucky girl**

The time seemed to stand still for her while she watched the doctors from the outside through the glass window working on her husband. She had James arm grasped tightly and it hurt him, but he didn't say a word.

Lorelai saw how they gave him another injection and changed some settings on the machines.

"We stopped the infusion with the medicine which kept him in coma. You can go in now, he should be awake in approximately an hour " one of the doctors said when they emerged from Luke's room and passed Lorelai. She looked up to James and saw him smiling down at her.

"Go in, I will wait here if he wants to see me when he's awake" he told her and pushed er towards the door.

Nearly two hours later James opened the door to Luke's room and found a sobbing Lorelai on the bed.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"He doesn't wake up." she sobbed.

"He will wake up, Lorelai. But it takes time"he tried to soothe her.

"No,he won't. He knows that I am here and he hates me, that's why he is not waking up"

"Don't be stupid. Luke loves you. And he will wake up" James said.

"If he loves me then why is he lying there without showing any reaction? This is his payback for my inability to leave him alone and let him be!" she yelled. James grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her off the bed. With force he pushed her out the door and out of the room.

"You have to stop that! And you have to stop beating yourself up in front of Luke. He can hear you and it won't help him getting better and waking up if his wife is blaming herself. Get a grip, Lorelai! I know this is hard for you, but you can not go on like this! Luke and Sara need you now, more than ever before. You have to be strong for them. There is no possibility for you to be weak and break down. You have to stop blaming yourself, stop crying and start eating start being strong and start being there for them. You don't have to do it alone, we are all here: Your daughter, your parents, your friends and his friends. God, this whole town is there and helping you." James yelled t her, then took a deep breath.

"I think the best would be if you go to Sara, feed her, play with her and I stay here. I will tell you when Luke wakes up. You go and calm down" he said then in a much gentler tone.

"But I need him" she whispered and lowered her head.

"No, he needs you and you have to be aware of that. He really needs you now and he needs you to believe in him. Have faith, Lorelai" James gave her arm a squeeze and then went back into Luke's room, while Lorelai slowly trotted to Sara's room.

* * *

"Sara, look, you have to move two forward. One... two..", William explained his sister and moved the figure over the game-field. 

"I have a one.. two...three...four" Laila said while she counted the eyes on the dice and then moved her yellow figure.

"Hey you three, what are you playing?" Lorelai asked them after she had watched her three kids for some time. Kirsten sat on a chair in a corner of the room and watched them. She was in the hospital nearly all day long and watched Sara while Lorelai was with Luke.

"Mommy, I think Sara is winning. Only one figure left in her house"William said excitedly.

"Really. That's our lucky-girl" Lorelai smiled and sat down on the bed and placed Laila in her lap and kissed Sara's forehead.

Kirsten, I will stay here. Thank you so much, but you can go home now" Lorelai turned to her friend.

"Lorelai,it's no problem, really. I can stay here",Kirsten answered.

"No, really. I would like to spend some time with these three. Alone. I hope you understand that."

"Of course I do. James has already gone home?"

"No, he is still with Luke"

"Then I will go and say goodbye to him before I go home."

"Okay. See you later and thanks again!"

* * *

"And then the prince kissed the princess and they lived happily ever after" Lorelai finished the book two hours later, while they kids listened to her every word. 

"That's a stupid story mommy" William decided then and looked up at his mother.

"Not true. You're stupid" Laila said and rolled her eyes.

"Why is this a stupid story Will? I think it's a perfectly nice story" Lorelai said.

"It's too girly. With the prince and the princess and all the kissing in the end. yuck!"William said and made a face.

"You're crazy, Will! Don't you think he's crazy, baby?" Lorelai smiled at Sara and stroked over her cheek. Sara looked at her mother, then at her brother with her huge blue eyes.

Then again, she looked up at Lorelai and nodded slightly.

"See, even Sara thinks you're crazy, honey!" Lorelai laughed, hugged her daughter and kissed her. It had been the first visible reaction to anything since the accident.

"Girls" William huffed.

"My poor boy" Lorelai laughed and tickled him. William screeched and laughed. Laila laughed with her brother and her mother and when Lorelai looked at Sara she saw then even she had a little smile on her face.

"Are you hungry my babies?" Lorelai asked her children when they had calmed down.

"Yeah, I want a burger and fries!" William said.

"I don't know if they have something like that here"

"They do. Kirsten bought me a burger yesterday"Laila told Lorelai.

"Well, okay then. Three cheeseburger?" Lorelai asked.

"No, three cheeseburger and a chicken burger" William interjected.

"Health-nut!"Lorelai teased.

"Grease-junkie!" William shot back.

"But you two are okay with cheeseburger?" The girls nodded.

"Okay, then I go and grab them. You two wanna stay here or come with me?" Lorelai asked Laila and William

"Come with you!" Laila yelled and jumped off Sara's bed.

"I stay here and look after Sara" William decided.

"Is that okay, my baby?" Lorelai asked Sara. Sara nodded.

"Okay, then be good my sweetie" Lorelai gave her daughter a tender smile and a kiss on the forehead before she walked off with Laila on her hand.

* * *

"Mommy, when can we visit daddy?" Laila asked while they walked back to Sara's room. 

"When he wakes up, princess. You're daddy is still asleep and we need to wait until, he wakes up."

"When will he wake up?"

"When he decides that he isn't tired anymore and the pain is gone."

"Why is he still tired? He has been asleep for so long, mommy.I want him to wake up!" Laila said forcefully.

"I want him to wake up, too. But we need to have patience and trust your daddy. He knows when the right time is for him to wake up. Okay?"

"Okay." Laila was quiet for a moment.

"Mommy?" she asked then.

"Yes?"

"I miss daddy and Sara" Laila said.

"I miss your daddy, too. But Sara is awake and she'll be home with us soon."

"I know, grandma told us. But Sara isn't talking. Is she mad with us?" the girl asked worried.

"No, princess, she is not mad with us. She got hurt pretty b in the accident and because the accident was so horrible for her, her brain decided that it is better for her to not speak until she is able to say funny and happy things again." Lorelai tried to explain the situation.

"When I tell her funny things will it help her?" Laila wanted to know.

"I don't know, but it won't hurt to try."

"Okay" Laila nodded.

"Hello, you two!" Emily's voice startled them both.

"Hello mom" Lorelai greeted her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hello grandma" Laila said and kissed her on the cheek also.

"What are you doing down here all alone? Where is William?" Emily wanted to know.

"He is with Sara, wanted to look after his sister while we are getting something to eat" Lorelai explained and opened the door to Sara's room.

"And then Meeko squeaked and ran after Barney who had the carrot. He chased him, grabbed the carrot with his teeth and ran. He hid under the couch and Barney was sad so i got him another carrot" William just finished his tale.

"Hello William, hello Sara" Emily greeted her grandchildren.

"Hi grandma!" William greeted her back.

"Mom, can you eat with them, I want to go and look after Luke again,It's been nearly three hours and I have an uneasy feeling."Lorelai held Emily back and whispered in her ear.

"Yes, of course. You go, I stay here until you are back."

"Thank you mom" Lorelai gave her a little smile and walked out of the room again.

* * *

Back at Luke's room, James was gone but instead Lorelai found Andy at her husband's bed. 

"Hey Andy!" Lorelai greeted their friend quietly.

"Hey Lorelai" he greeted her back, stood up and kissed her on both cheeks.

"I go and wait outside"he said then.

"No,please stay, I can't stay long, the kids are waiting. I just had a strange feeling and needed to see him." she told Andy and went over to Luke's bed.

"Hey, hon'. I know you hate the word, but I felt a vibe and needed to see you again today. Sorry, if you're already sick of me, but I couldn't help it." she spoke to Luke and pressed some kisses on his cheek.

"Tomorrow I will give you another shave, your stubble is getting too long." she stroked with her right hand over Luke's stubbly cheek.

"Now that I know that you're all right I will leave you guys alone again. Bye hon'" she said and kissed his forehead. She let go of his hand with her left hand when a shrill beeping sound started and several monitor started to blink red.

"Oh god, Luke! Luke!" Lorelai yelled and grabbed his hand again.

"Miss, please step back!" a nurse said and pulled her back by the shoulders.

"No,Luke!" Lorelai screamed hysterically and Andy grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her away from the bed so that the doctor who was changing some things on the monitors, could do his job. He examined Luke shortly and said some things in Latin to the nurse.

"Do something! He can't die!" Lorelai yelled at the medicine.

"Miss you need to calm down!" the nurse said over her shoulder to Lorelai.

"Mrs, I am MRS Danes!" Lorelai yelled back and saw how the doctor extubated her husband.

"What are you doing? No! He can't die !Luke!" Lorelai tried to get out of Andy's grasp and get to Luke.

"Lorelai!" Andy yelled and shook her.

"Look, his heart is beating, he is NOT dead!" he told her forcefully and pointed to the screen which monitored his Luke's heartbeat.

Lorelai stared at the green lines at the screen, how they rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

"But..." she said in a normal tone.

"Mrs. Danes your husband started to breathe against the machines. That's a good thing. He is able now to breathe on his own again and the intubation will no longer be needed." The medicine told her.

"Is he waking up?" Lorelai asked with teary eyes.

"We don't know, but it's a step in the right direction" the doctor said and left the room.

TBC


	24. Piggy Barbie and a baseball bat

**Chapter 24: Piggy, Barbie and a baseball bat**

Another four weeks had gone by since that day Luke had started to breathe on his own again, but other than that, nothing had improved or changed. Luke still laid in a coma, although the doctors had stopped the medication. The situation was getting more and more critical due to the fact that the longer he lay in a coma the more his brain would get damaged. Lorelai had had several talks with the team of doctors which supervised Luke in different shifts, but they were as helpless as she was at this point.

There was no possibility to wake him up, no medication could do that and everything the whole family and friends could do was waiting. All inhabitants of Stars Hollow were helping out as much as they could. Kirk was helping Lane and Cesar at the diner, although Lorelai hoped that Luke would never find out. Babette and Miss Patty were spoiling Laila as much as they could and Kirsten constantly baby-sat William and was feeding and cleaning his beloved pets. Even James and Andy were stopping by regularly to do the books at the diner and help Lorelai with her paper-work at the Inn.

But all the help of these people and not even the support her parents and Rory gave her could make the constant feeling of loneliness disappear, which accompanied Lorelai day and night. She felt like she was left alone in hell, trying to find the way out of this terrible place all by herself while she was blindfolded and deaf. She stumbled from one appointment to the next, tried to arrange her schedule so that she was able to be at the hospital and at the Inn and somewhere between those two places she had to fit her children in, which needed her attention now more than ever. Sometimes she was having nice time with her two kids at home, reading or playing with them, but then she got sad and started to cry before she yelled at William and Laila the next second.

They were behaving like little angels and Lorelai forgot from time to time that they were just as scared as she was, maybe even more. When they were home alone they were tip-toeing around the house, trying to be as quiet as possible. They tried not to bother her with anything and Lorelai had started to cry when she had witnessed Laila calling Emily because she was thirsty and scared to ask Lorelai since the toast incident.

Laila had been hungry and had asked Lorelai to make her something to eat, but Lorelai had been on the phone with Sara's psychologist, which had caused Laila to ask William. Being in his "man of the house" mode, William had agreed and had tried to make his sister a toast, but had forgotten that the toaster was no longer popping out the toast. The fire alarm had started when the smoke had reached the contact, Lorelai had thrown the toaster into the sink and unplugged it from the electricity before she had started to freak out. She had screamed and yelled, cursed and cried, had slapped William when he had tried to explain himself and had finally send the two children into their rooms before she had broken down completely and had sat as a sopping bundle on the ground, rocking herself from side to side like a lunatic.

Jo, the guy who had tried to hit on her before Luke had had a talk with him at the baseball stadium, had found her and had brought her to bed and the two scared kids to Kirsten, before they had called Emily and Richard. Since then the kids always looked scared when they had to ask her something and looked at her like she had lost her mind. Emily had insisted that she was finally taking the pills the psychologist at the hospital had given her.

But Luke, William and Laila were not the only persons Lorelai was worried about, because Sara was still at the hospital and she was still not talking. Sometimes she was reacting and interacting with her family, at another time she was just staring blankly ahead, totally apathetic. After a long talk with Sara's doctors and Rory, Lorelai had agreed to let a psychologist visit her daughter after three weeks in the hospital without any progress.

The woman was very nice and the therapy was different than Lorelai had thought. Dr. Diaz was playing and drawing with Sara, or at least trying to. There were days when even the professional wasn't able to enter Sara's own little world and had to leave without getting a single reaction from the girl. Her broken bones had healed and she should have long started her physical training, but she was refusing to leave the bed or to even try to move her legs.

The unstable states of two people Lorelai loved more than anything else, beside her three other children, was what got to Lorelai. Nobody could tell her when Luke would wake up, if he would wake up. Nobody could tell her if his brain was damaged and how much it was damaged. They couldn't tell her if he would be disabled, they couldn't tell her that he wouldn't be either. Nobody knew if Sara would ever utter a single word again or how much the traumatic experience had influenced her. If she would talk, go to school or be the funny little girl she had been before... nobody knew.

* * *

It was now the middle of November and Luke's birthday approached quickly. Lorelai knew that there wouldn't be a discussion about having a party, there wouldn't be the waking up in the early hours of the morning to have a little alone time with him before the kids would wake and there wouldn't be an argument who would give his present first to daddy. The mere thought that this would be all missing brought tears to Lorelai's eyes and broke her heart. Not only this birthday was endangered but all others to come. Who knew of they would ever celebrate a birthday together again?

Two days before Luke's birthday William and Laila had insisted to go with their grandparents to their daily visit to Sara, that's how Lorelai knew something was up. The night before Luke's birthday when Lorelai dragged herself upstairs into bed she saw that the light in Williams room was still on and decided to look what he was doing. It was past ten o' clock and way past his bed time.

When she neared the door she heard whispers inside and tried to hear what they were saying, but wasn't successful. Slowly and quietly she opened the door and looked inside. William and Laila were sitting on his floor trying to wrap something big into paper.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked, her voice barely above a whisper. It was enough to scare the two kids that much that they dropped the paper and looked at her with huge scared eyes. Lorelai knew that they expected her to freak out again and yell at them or start to cry, but the pills were helping and Lorelai just felt numb most of the time.

"We.. we were just..." William tried to explain and stepped protectively in front of his sister, what touched Lorelai even in her numb state.

"It's late you two, you should be asleep" she told them gently and crouched down in front of them.

"We just wanted to wrap this, 'cause we couldn't all day" William said shyly and looked down.

"It's a birthday present for your daddy, huh?" she gave them a small smile and Laila and William nodded. Lorelai sat down on the floor and pulled her two children on her lap.

"Am I allowed to see what this is? Maybe I can help you wrapping it?" she asked. Laila relaxed and snuggled into her mother after handing her the big package.

Lorelai took the crumbled paper from the mass underneath and her breath hitched when she realized what was in front of her: Laila's princess Barbie, Williams favorite baseball- bat and a picture of him and Meeko, Sara's piggy and a huge picture of the three of them smiling on Sara's hospital-bed.

Lorelai swallowed hard before she was able to say something.

"These are your favorite toys and you want to give them to your daddy as a birthday present?" she asked them.

"Daddy is still asleep and we thought that when we give him our things as a present he will wake up, because he knows that we need them." Laila said.

"We thought maybe he wants to wake up then. Maybe he has just forgotten we are waiting for him, too" William shrugged.

"Sweeties, no matter how long your daddy will sleep, he will never forget about you. Your daddy loves you very much and I know that he wants nothing more than to spend time with you." Lorelai assured them.

"Why is he still asleep then? Doesn't he miss us?" Laila asked.

"Of course he does. And he is fighting so hard to wake up. But you know, while your daddy is saying "I want to wake up and be with my babies again" his body is saying "I am not ready yet and you have to sleep some longer that I can heal". And this is the problem, that's why he isn't waking up. He has to wait just as we have to wait and I am sure your presents will help your daddy to convince his body to heal a little faster, don't you think?" she said and tried to keep her tears at bay.

"Yeah, I think so too" William agreed.

"Me too, mommy" Laila said and yawned.

"You're tired, mmh princess. Let's get you into bed" Lorelai said and kissed them both before she stood up with the kids still in her arms.

"My oh my, you two are heavy. Soon I will need a fork-lift to carry you around. Poor old me!" she quipped.

"You're not old mommy!" they said both at the same time and slung their arms around her neck.

"What do you think about sleeping in the big bed with me tonight?" she asked them and laughed when they both yelled "yay" at the same time.

"Can I ask you two something?" she asked them when they lay cuddled up to each other on the bed.

"What mommy?" William's voice echoed in the dark.

"How did you get Sara's piggy from her?"

" We told her our plan and she smiled and gave us piggy" William said as it was the most normal thing.

"Okay, good night sweeties. Sleep tight!" Lorelai smiled and then sighed. Maybe Sara would be okay after all.

* * *

The next day at the hospital Lorelai went to Sara at first, like every day. She felt that William wanted something, because he stayed closely by her side all the time. When her parents arrived and played with Sara and Laila she took him aside to talk with him.

"William, honey, what is wrong? Do you want to tell me something?" she asked.

"Mommy, can I..." he trailed of.

"Sweety, talk to me. Can you what?"

"I promised Sara and Laila that I would give daddy the presents myself and then tell them how he is. I want to see him" he confessed, his lip quivered and his eyes welled up. Lorelai thought about it for a second. This was her son asking to see his father on his father's birthday. She didn't know when Luke would wake up or if he would ever wake up. Maybe he would look even paler in some months, thinner, more different.

"Okay, honey. Take the present and come with me. I will try to get you inside"

* * *

Hand in hand they walked into the intensive care and were soon stopped by the nurse which had to open the door and let them in.

"Mrs Danes children are not allowed to the intensive care, we already told you that" she said firmly.

"Today is my husbands birthday and my son wants to see his father and give him his presents. Please Sally, let him in. We all don't know when Luke will wake up and it's better they see him now while he is still... than later" Lorelai said and by the look on Lorelai's face the nurse knew what she was talking about.

"Okay, but be quick and when somebody asks.."

"You didn't see us" Lorelai smiled gratefully.

They walked in and Lorelai handed William one of the green coats they had to wear and help him to wash his hands with the special soap.

"Honey, remember that your daddy is very sick and needs his rest okay? He is not looking very good, but don't be scared" she prepared William for the sight he would soon have to endure. Luke had lost a lot of weight these past weeks and he was as pale as never before.

"Okay" William nodded bravely and held his mother's hand a bit tighter when they walked into the room.

"Hey hon' look who is here to wish you a happy birthday" Lorelai said and tried to sound as chipper as possible while she led William to his father's bed.

"Will although he is asleep, he can hear you, you know" she whispered into William's ear.

"Happy birthday daddy" he said shyly and hugged his mother's leg.

Lorelai bend over and kissed Luke softly on the lips.

"Happy birthday, my love" she said and pressed another kiss to his forehead.

"Can I give daddy a kiss, too?" William asked after he had seen what his mother had done.

"Sure, sweety" she smiled and lifted him up and sat him down on the bed. William scanned his father with his eyes before he lifted his hand and touched his fathers cheek.

"Daddy always feels like he has a fever. He says he is his own radiator" William giggled then.

"Yeah, I know" Lorelai smiled and stroked over William's hair.

The boy leaned forward and placed a kiss on Luke's cheek, leaned his forehead against his father's forehead. Not able to pull back William's head dropped to Luke's shoulder and the boy clung to him.

"I miss you daddy! Please wake up! Daddy please!" he sobbed into his father's shoulder. Lorelai rubbed his back and let him cry, she knew he needed it.

* * *

"Angel, why don't you give your daddy his presents?" she asked after a while when the boy had calmed down.

"Okay" he sniffed and pulled back from the embrace, but stayed on the bed. Lorelai handed him the present and he looked at it helplessly.

"He can't even open it mommy!" he sniffed and Lorelai saw that his eyes welled up again.

"Why don't you open it for him? I'm sure your daddy won't mind" she assured him. William nodded and started to unwrap the presents. He explained to Luke what he held in his hands before he lay the presents down on his bed. He even showed him the pictures and explained it to him, while piggy lay on Luke's stomach, next to the Barbie and the baseball bat.

Lorelai and William stayed for half an hour, before they walked back to Sara and the others.

"Do you think daddy is happy about the presents?" William asked her just before they entered the room.

"I know he is" she told him and took a deep breath before they entered Sara's room.

* * *

Later that day, when Kirsten had arrived and Lorelai fed Sara dinner the psychologist Dr. Diaz entered and asked Lorelai for a talk. She apologized to her kids and Kirsten and followed the doctor in her office.

"Mrs Danes I am afraid I don't have any good news" the doctor came immediately to the point.

"Oh no, not today" Lorelai whispered and shook her head in desperation. The doctor looked at her curiously, but Lorelai didn't explain herself and waited for her to continue.

"I made several test with your daughter during the last few weeks, or I tried to make them at least because most of the time it was just not possible. As you already know we tried to find out if the brain of your daughter got damaged during the accident, because she doesn't talk. The neurological tests where without any abnormalities, which is a good thing."

"But?" Lorelai interrupted.

"But Sara still isn't talking. I tried to find out if she can't talk or doesn't want to talk, but the time here is not sufficient to find that out."

"Which means?" Lorelai asked and sat on the edge of her seat.

"I made some phone calls and talked to some colleagues and we would advice you to give Sara into a psychological clinic for children as soon as possible"

"No!" Lorelai said firmly when the doctor hadn't even finished.

"Mrs Danes, please hear me out: That Sara isn't talking is a problem, but not the only one. She is apathetic and doesn't react. She needs her physical training to be able to walk again and she can't do that if she doesn't participate. Your daughter needs help and she needs it soon!" the doctor said with urgency in her voice.

"I.. I can't decide that today. Please, give me some more time. It is all too much today. My husband's birthday and now this.. Please I need to think about it." Lorelai said, clearly upset as she focused on her hands in her lap.

"It's okay. Take your time to decide. Just... not too long, for the sake of your daughter" Lorelai simply nodded and then stood up and left the room without saying another word.

* * *

Lorelai practically ran to the intensive care and into Luke's room. She flung her self at her husband and clung to his sleeping form.

"God, Luke, please,please wake up, please!" she cried into his shoulder like William had done earlier that day. They want to take away Sara. They want to transfer her to a psychological children's hospital. They can't help her here, Luke" he voice broke and she wasn't able to speak anymore. She lay there crying for a while and when she had a tad of control over herself again, she had a headache from crying so hard. She pulled back and sat up, took his hand in her own.

"Now I am even ruining your birthday. Not only your life but also your birthday. I wish I would have made you happier when you were still awake. All I did was make you do what I wanted and forcing my wishes on you. Why did you even marry me? I ruined your life and nearly killed you. I think it would have been better for you if we had never met. I think that's why you are still asleep, because you don't want to see me anymore. Maybe I should just go and don't come back here. I miss you so much and I can't stay away. But maybe that's what you need. You need me to go and don't come back." Lorelai was crying again.

"And... and that's my birthday present for you: I will go and never come back. I know we will see again when you are awake because of the kids, but other than that I will stay away.. from you" Lorelai was nearly hysterically crying, but managed to stand up.

"I... I really love you" she said and walked away from him.

Two steps, then she couldn't go any further. Something, literally, held her back. She turned around and looked down at her hand: His hand had closed tightly around hers, held her with a strength nobody had expected left in that sleeping body. She stared at their hands and let her eyes glide over his body up to his face. Only to stare into his beautiful blue eyes. They were open.

**TBC**


	25. Whispers

**Thanks for the reviews! I'll hve to study for the next two weeks, so this will be te last update for at least two weeks... at least I think so. Maybe I'll find some time at night to write, but I don't know yet. Hope you like it!

* * *

****Chapter 25: Whispers**

She stared into his eyes, blinked and stared again. His eyes were still open, the blue as clear as it has always been. She was frozen to the spot and couldn't react. Was he really awake? Was he okay? Did he even see her? She wasn't sure if she was still breathing, she wasn't sure this wasn't one of the many dreams she had had.

"Crazy woman" Luke rasped and tugged at her hand, bringing her out of her daze. Without saying a single word she tumbled down on top of him, slung her arms around him and cried hysterically like she had done so often during those horrible last weeks. Only this time he wasn't just lying there. He held her close and his hand found it's way into her hair, stroked it while he breathed her in.

She couldn't believe that she was lying on top of him crying and he was soothing her again. This had been her dream for the past weeks and now it came true. For her it wasn't important at that moment if he would be disabled, not talking, in a wheelchair or anything else. He was there, he was there for her, she was there for him and they would be together. All the rest could be arranged, as long as they were only together.

* * *

"Mrs. Danes? Mrs. Danes?" A nurse said some minutes later and touched Lorelai's shoulder. Lorelai held Luke tighter and mumbled something into his shoulder.

"Mrs. Danes please. You can't lay on him" the nurse said. Suddenly Lorelai laughed out loud. She was cracking up and slowly pulled back a little from Luke. She looked into his eyes again to make sure he was really awake and calmed down when she saw his concerned look.

"He's awake" she told the nurse then, repeated what she had said before.

"I will get a doctor" the nurse said quickly, after looking at Luke and rushed out of the room.

"Don..." Luke said when the nurse had left the room. He tried to speak, but his voice was raspy and came out as a whisper.

"What?" Lorelai asked him softly and stroked her hair away which had landed on his face.

"Don't go!" he whispered and laced his fingers through hers. That sentence made it clear that he had heard her speech minutes before. He knew that she wanted to go and never come back. She wasn't ashamed of what she had said, she was only ashamed of what she had done nearly two months ago. In her head and in her heart she was the one to blame for the accident. Maybe he didn't remember yet. She looked down, focused on their joined hands.

"Lore..." he said and his voice broke. She looked up at him and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but didn't really succeed. Before any of them could say something more a group of doctors and nurses rushed into the room and interrupted them.

"Mr. Danes I am Dr. Nelson, this is Dr. Brix and Nurse Sally. We were looking after you those last weeks. Do you understand me?" the doctor asked and Lorelai stood up from the bed, what caused Luke to grip her hand even tighter.

"Yes" Luke whispered and nodded slightly.

"Are in you in pain?" was the next question of the doctor. Luke shook slightly and slowly

"I... I am thirsty" he whispered after another moment and tried to clear his throat.

"Sally would you get him some water?" Dr. Brix turned to the nurse, who nodded and left the room.

"We will get you something to drink." the young doctor smiled at Luke while his older colleague had started checking the monitors and writing some things down on a file.

"Mr. Danes do you remember what happened?" he went on and Luke just stared at him blankly.

"Do you know why you're here at the hospital?" Luke remained quiet for another second, then looked up at Lorelai, giving her a look of confusion and helplessness before he shook his head again.

"No", he said.

"What is the last thing you can remember?" the doctor wanted to know.

"The diner. We were at the diner. And there was a ... a... they were all in the town-square" Luke said with a lot of effort.

"Here is the water Mr. Danes" Nurse Sally said when she got back that second and the doctors took Lorelai aside, so she had to drop Luke's hand.

"At the moment we can't find anything abnormal. He is slightly disorientated and has problems speaking, but that will be gone tomorrow and we can do some tests. I think the best would be if you tell him what happened and if you realize anything, that he is ... I don't know, not remembering, out of it for some time, that he can't follow you or his memories are gone. It is important that you tell us. It is normal that he is weak and his voice will come back very soon, but pay attention to little details, they could be important." the doctor advised her, before they left the room together with the nurse. Helplessly Lorelai stood beside his bed, overwhelmed by the situation and debated what to do, while Luke stared at her, observed her.

"Come here" he said then and held out his hand for her to take it. She realized that his arm was shaking from the effort of holding it up, took it and let herself being pulled onto his bed again. She sat down and quietly played with his fingers while she tried to get her emotions under control.

"We were at the diner talking about Rory and then we went outside, right?" he started to whisper and she nodded in response.

"There was the chocolate festival outside and you didn't wanted to go so I came, send Will outside and dragged you out there. You said you didn't wanted to, but I... I begged and pleaded so you gave in" Lorelai added and quickly whipped away the tear which had escaped her eye, but Luke had already seen it.

"We had a nice time..." Luke started but was interrupted.

"I had a nice time, you wanted to go home" she corrected him.

"We had a nice time and I wanted to go home" Luke gave her a little smile and had to cough when he wanted to go on.

"Can you hand me the water?" he asked. Lorelai took the glass from the nightstand and handed it to him. Luke took it and led the glass to his mouth, but his hand shook so much that Lorelai took the glass out of his hand and positioned it at his lips.

"Thanks" Luke said embarrassed and she stood the glass back on the nightstand.

"We were waiting for something and I..."

"We were waiting for Will and Sara so that we could go home" Lorelai completed.

"And I.. I was..." Luke thought about it and suddenly his eyes opened wide.

"Oh my god... Sara! How is Sara?" He asked upset and sat up, then groaned in pain.

"Luke! Are you okay?" Lorelai asked him concerned and he nodded. His muscles were cramped in his back from lying for such a long time.

"How is Sara?" he asked again with such an urgency and fear in his voice that Lorelai's eyes welled up again. Luke misunderstood Lorelai's tears and all color disappeared from his face.

"No!" he whispered hoarsely.

"No, oh god, no Luke. Sara is fine" Lorelai cried when she realized what he assumed.

"She's fine?" Luke asked and looked like he was about to cry.

"She had some broken bones and they needed to operate her, but the bones are healed and she will be fine" Lorelai assured him. Luke looked at her and she could see in his face that he was thinking about something. She lifted their hands up and placed a kiss on the back of his hand, like she had done so many times during the last weeks.

"How long?" Luke suddenly asked then.

"How long what, honey?"

"How long have I been lying here?" Luke asked and saw her take a deep breath.

"Nearly two months" Lorelai answered and felt him squeeze her hand.

"I'm sorry" he said.

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. If one should be apologizing it's me. I dragged you out to the festival and if I wouldn't have begged you, nothing of this would have happened and you wouldn't be lying here. Luke if you want me to go, I promised you that I would do it while you were asleep. I understand if you hate me now and I swear I didn't..." Lorelai started to ramble.

"Stop it!" Luke interrupted her, his voice suddenly harsh.

"I remember the accident not that clearly but it was not your fault!" Luke told her.

"But I..."

"It was not your fault!" he told her again and pulled her into his arms, repeating the words over and over again.

"It was not your fault!"

* * *

"What happened?" he asked after a while, when Lorelai had calmed down from her newly upset state.

"You wanted to save Sara and the car crashed into you two. You flew through the air and crashed down on the street. Sara had some broken bones, a concussion and several minor things, but your heart stopped right after the accident and the paramedics had trouble getting you back. I drove here with Sara, I had to leave you, and then we sat here for hours and nobody could tell me if you were dead or alive. They told me that you were brought here as an emergency and were brought to the operating room immediately. Your heart stopped again during the operation. You had severe injuries like internal bleedings and some organs weren't okay... your kidneys, your lung, your liver...some broken bones and they couldn't say how much your brain was damaged." she told him and wiped away tears repeatedly.

"Will something remain?"

"Until now everything healed well. You were able to breathe on your own again and your kidneys fully recovered, at least one. They will perform some tests tomorrow." she said and was quiet for a second.

"Luke?" she asked then.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Never leave me alone again!" she said and lay her head on his chest and let his arms wrap around her body, snuggled into him.

"Okay" he said and placed a kiss on her hair before she nodded off to the sound of his heartbeat.

* * *

Two hours later Lorelai was shaken awake by her mother.

"Lorelai? Lorelai?" Emily said and nudged Lorelai repeatedly.

"Mmmh?" came Lorelai's sleepy reply. She was so comfortable lying in Luke's arms again that she didn't wanted to get up.

"Lorelai what are you doing? Are you okay?" Emily asked and Lorelai could hear the concern in Emily's voice. She sat up and untangled from Luke, carefully not to wake him. She looked at his sleeping form and wondered if it all had been a dream. But something was different. He was asleep like he had been for the past two months, but for her it was different. It felt different because she knew he would wake up in the morning. She leaned over and kisses him before she faced her mother.

"He's woken up, Mom" Lorelai said.

"Lorelai... he is still asleep... I think you should go home and..." Emily rambled confused while she looked from Lorelai to Luke and back.

"He woke up, mom. I talked to him and the doctors were here." Lorelai interrupted her and the emotion in Lorelai's voice made it clear that it was true.

"Is he okay?" Emily asked

"Yeah... at least I think so" Lorelai said and a smile showed on her face. The first real smile in two months.

"Oh thank god!" Emily exclaimed and hugged Lorelai. Her daughter thought she even heard her sniff.

"The kids are asleep. If you want to stay here under the given circumstances I could take them with me" Emily offered and pulled back.

"No, I'm coming. They are scared at night sometimes since all that happened. I will take them back home with me. Luke is asleep and I'll come back tomorrow and maybe the doctors can tell me more then." Together they walked out of the intensive care and Lorelai didn't even realize that her mother still held her hand until they were halfway in Sara's room.

"Mom you can let go of my hand now, otherwise our two husbands maybe would be scared" Lorelai joked. Emily looked at her, her hand still in hers and then gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Glad you are back" she said before she let go of her daughters hand and walked into her grand-daughters room.

Lorelai followed her, a smiled still on her face and it got even wider when she saw her three sleeping kids cuddled close together on the same bed. She kissed Sara good-night and untangled her from Laila.

"Can you help me and take Laila. I don't want to wake them up" she whispered to her mother.

"Of course I can" Emily whispered back and took Laila from Lorelai.

"Come here honey" Lorelai whispered to the sleeping William and lifted him up.

"God, I'm getting to old for this" Lorelai muttered when she had her son in her arms.

"Well what should I say?" Emily shot back.

"Mommy?" came Williams sleepy voice.

"Yeah, honey I'm here. We're going home now" Lorelai told him and kissed his cheek several times.

"Where were you mommy?" he asked

"I was with your daddy" she told him.

"Is he okay?" William wanted to know and yawned.

"With Piggy , Barbie and the pics he is all right. And if some monsters attack him at night he has your bat right?" she asked him while they left the room.

"Right" Will said, half asleep again and snuggled more into his mothers shoulder.

**TBC**


	26. Believe it or not

Although I have to learn I update... it's my escape from reality when I get too nervous.. honestly I am a nervous wrack and the exams are next monday and Tuesday... god I am nervous!

* * *

**Chapter 26: Believe it or not**

The next morning Lorelai had packed Laila and Will and was in the hospital before eight o' clock in the morning. She was missing Luke and Sara so badly that she couldn't stand being away from them for one second longer.

When she had woken up William and Laila they had both been confused because it had been six o clock on a week-end and their mother was already awake. Laila had pointed out that this was unusual and William had asked if something was wrong.

Lorelai had had an internal debate with herself about how to tell the kids that Luke was awake and decided to talk to Luke first.

It was important that he was ready to see them and he should decide how and when, although she had no doubt in her mind that he would request to see them immediately.

At the hospital she hurried them to Sara's room and William had complained that their legs were too short to run so fast and that Lorelai would get a heart attack if she would keep running, because she was not in training. Lorelai just laughed and chased William the rest to Sara's room while he was giggling and Laila was trying to hurry after them.

Sara was already awake and the psychologist Dr. Diaz was with her and surprised of the early visit. Laila and William started to tell Sara everything that had happened and the doctor took Lorelai aside.

"You decided what to do Mrs. Danes?" she asked and observed Sara while the girl listened to the tales of her siblings. She seemed more awake when they were around, payed attention to what they were saying and glanced over at her mother from time to time.

"No, I haven't decided on it yet. My husband woke up yesterday and I want to discuss this with him after he saw the kids. I was actually just going over to him to check on him" Lorelai said.

"I would not take Sara to her father, it could upset her even more. Don't tell her before she starts to speak."

"Are you serious?" Lorelai asked stunned.

"Yes, don't stress her that much. Wait until she speaks. I am sure that they can help her in that clinic. She is still apathetic from time to time and as long as that remains we have to be careful, because otherwise it would be possible that she fleds in her own little world totally"

"Doctor Diaz, I am not a doctor and certainly not a psychologist. Although I think that all psychologists are slightly crazy which would enable me to be one as well. Well.. anyway. But I know my daughter and I know how much she loves her father. I don't know how she is reacting when you are with her, but when we are here she is reacting just fine. No separate world of her own at all. Do you see that?" Lorelai asked and pointed to the bed where the kids were laughing while tickling each other.

"This is her family, we are her family and call me crazy, egoistic or intuitive, but I don't want her in that clinic separated from us. I want her home and I have the feeling that only the daily routine at home will help her. Her father is awake and I will take her to see him if he wants that. And he will want that." Lorelai said with force and looked at Sara, who stared at her. Lorelai gave her a smile and her daughter smiled back.

"I can not tell you what to do, but you might regret this decision later" the psychologist said.

"I know, but if i don't trust my intuition I will regret it as well." Lorelai said and turned towards her children.

"Honeys, I will go and say good morning to your daddy. I will be right back. Okay? Be good!"she said and kissed them.

"Don't worry mommy, I've got them under control" William said in a snotty tone, which caused Sara to slap him lightly.

"Mmh, own world, I see that!" Lorelai said quietly at Dr. Diaz and left the room.

* * *

When Lorelai arrived at the intensive care they told her that Luke had been transferred to a normal room and gave her the directions, which cost her ten minutes and made her want to see him even more.

When she arrived she just opened the door without knocking and a smile crept on her face when she saw him sitting in his bed, a doctor by his side.

Luke had heard her opening the door and turned his head towards her, smiled when he saw her.

That was all Lorelai needed before she threw herself at him again and hugged him as hard as she could.

When she pulled back she was still smiling and looked into his eyes, just to see again that they were open.

Then she tentatively brought her lips to his and her hand found it's way to his cheek. She felt his stubble under her fingers and only the presence of the doctor caused her to pull back.

She didn't let go of him completely though and kept his hand in hers when she faced the doctor.

"Good Morning Mrs. Danes. We were just talking about the results of the tests we were doing this morning" the young doctor smiled at her.

"Test already this morning? Wow, you're fast and that on a week-end" Lorelai said and squeezed Luke's hand.

"Yeah they woke me up" Luke said.

"Mr. Danes the nurse told me that you were already awake" the doctor said.

"No they woke me up"

"Who woke you up?" the doctor wanted to know.

"They... I don't know. I don't remember, but I was woken up. It was too early to be already awake." Luke said.

"At which time did they wake you up?" Lorelai was confused by the interrogation and gave the doctor a funny look.

"At five thirty. I would never get up at five thirty by myself!" Luke huffed.

"Honey, you got up at a quarter to five for the last twenty years" Lorelai told him.

"No, I did not!" Luke yelled and Lorelai jumped and pulled away from him and then stood startled beside the bed, stared at him, confused by his outburst.

Mrs. Danes could I talk to you for a second outside?" the doctor asked and led her out without that she had a chance to say no.

"So, I think I have to tell you some things" the doctor started and Lorelai nodded, waited for him to go on.

"At first I have good news. According to the test we made this morning your husband is healthy,still recovering, but okay. The lung has healed, the kidney is working and the broken bones are whole again."

"But?" Lorelai asked to get him to the point she was dreating.

"I think nobody told you yet about the consequences which can follow a time in coma"

"Consequences?" she repeated and got pale.

"There is one test left which will show how much his ability to memorize and to speak are damaged but what we have until now looks very good. He knows who he is, he can move all parts of his body and with some training he will soon be able to walk again."

"Does that mean he can not walk?" she asked confused.

"No, he can't. The muscles which are required for walking aren't as strong anymore as they have been and he needs to train them before he will be able to walk. But there are other things I want to tell you..." Lorelai looked at him with fear in her eyes and the doctor smiled reassuringly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not as bad as it might sound. In the first time after waking up the patients who lay in coma for a while tend to have spasms or cramps. It looks scary, but it is not dangerous. They also tend to hallucinate, make things up that aren't true, talk to people which are not there or suffer from extreme mood swings. That he yelled at you was part of that. It is possible that he doesn't even remember it when you come back. Which brings me to another point: it is possible that he will be confused and that he will forget thing very easily. We will see about that this afternoon, but at the moment there were no abnormalities. Those are all things though that will be gone in a few days, no reason to worry. I told you yesterday to pay attention, did you notice anything?" he asked then while Lorelai still took all of that in.

"uhm... I don't know. We didn't talk that much, uhm, but maybe... I had the impression that it was difficult for him to find the right words sometimes" she shrugged.

"We will check that also this afternoon. Do you have any more questions?"

"Yeah, actually I do: How long will he have to stay here and are the kids allowed to visit him?" she asked.

"About the staying, I can't tell at the moment, It depends on the results of the tests. If everything runs smoothly I would say another week and then you can take him home. Although he will have to come back everyday for the first time for his physical therapy. And about the second question: it would be good if the people he loves come and visit him, just don't overdo it" he doctor smiled, gave Lorelai's shoulder a friendly squeeze and a wink and walked off.

* * *

When she opened the door Luke looked at her and gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"I'm sorry" he said then while she walked over to him and sat down on his bed. She sighed relieved, that he remembered at least that he yelled at her. That was a good sign, right?

"It's okay, you have nothing to be sorry for" she said and took his hand in hers.

"Those tests were just so damn frustrating, I was lying there and couldn't really move and they treated me like I was dumb or had lost the ability to think. They were asking stupid questions gin and again. You know I think they are abnormal, cause they asked me the same damn stuff for about three times! Did they even listen to what I was telling them? I told them at least three times that I own a diner and have four kids. Then they wanted to know the names and they asked for them. I told them. They asked again..." he ranted and Lorelai bit her lower lip and her eyes welled up. She finally interrupted him with a kiss. She pressed her lips to his and her hand glided into his hair, pulled him closer. She kept her eyes open only to see his close, before he opened his mouth and deepened th kiss and she had to close hers as well. It was just too much. Her other hand found the way under the hem of his T-shirt and she enjoyed how his skin felt under it. They both moaned when their tongues met and they couldn't get close enough. They clung to each other kissing passionately, nearly desperate.

They had to pull back at some point and both gasped for air, but stayed as close as possible. Lorelai lay her head on his shoulder and he pulled her with him when he lay back against the pillows.

"Luke I have to talk to you" she broke the minutes of silence that followed the kiss.

"Yeah?" he said. Mr. Mono-syllabic was back again.

"It's about Sara" she said and waited for a reaction.

"Luke?" she asked when none came.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Huh?"

"I have to talk to you about Sara" she said again, hoping th he would understand it this time.

"What? I s something wrong with her?" he asked worried and looked down at her.

"Since the accident Sara hasn't spoken a single word. At first she was just staring blanky ahead and refused to eat, that's okay now. You're still with me?" she asked.

"God, do I have to say "uhuh" after every word?" he said upset and Lorelai took a deep breath.

"No, of course not. I'm sorry!" she said and gave him a peck on the lips before she went on.

"A psychologist is working with her, but without success and now they want to transfer her into a psychological clinic for children."

"No!" Luke said forcefully before Lorelai could go on.

"That's what I said. I have the feeling that it would be wrong and not helping. But I don't know what to do either. She is not speaking and something has to happen!" she sounded desperate and it was not lost on Luke.

"I want to see her" he said., only this.

"You want to see her?" Lorelai looked up to him.

"I have to see her so that I know how ...se..se..bad it is"he sad and sighed frustrated.

"It will get better honey!" she told him reassuringly and they both knew what she was talking about.

"What about Will and Laila?"Lorelai asked then.

"They got hurt also?" he panicked.

"No! No, they didn't, thank god! I just... do you want to see them also?"

"Of course!" he smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Did the kids see me like this?" he asked after another second of of silence.

"only William. He came here yesterday and gave you your birthday presents. Happy birthday again, by the way" she grinned and used the opportunity to kiss him again.

"What did I get?" he wanted to know when they broke the kiss.

"This" she answered and pointed to his nightstand where the nurse had put the presents, even the small baseball bat.

"I got the Barbie, the baseball bat and the.. uh... pig?"

"Piggy"

"Right, that was it.. piggy"

"Yeah, actually you did. Plus a photo of Meeko and Will and one of the three of them, which I can find here." she she said the last part confused.

Luke pointed up to the grip he had on his bed to pull himself up and attached to the grip was the picture.

"I wanted them with me and see them" he explained.

"Oh Luke" she sighed and kissed him for the third time that day, which was nothing to make up for the last weeks.

"I will go and get the monsters now" she grinned then.

"Hurry" was all he said and she left the room.

* * *

"Hey, you're all still alive?" Lorelai smiled brightly when she burst into Sara's room.

"Mommy, you were gone for so long!" Laila whined and hugged Lorelai's middle.

"Oh sweety I had to say good morning to your daddy. And guess what!" she said excited.

"What?" William and Laila yelled, while Sara only looked curiously at her.

"I have a surprise for you three!" she announced.

"A surprise! What?" Laila squeaked and jumped from one leg to the other.

"yeah, what mommy? What?" William yelled as well.

"We will go all four now and visit your daddy!" she told them and for some seconds they only stared.

"Really?" Laila asked then.

"Sure, come on let's go!" she grinned and picked up Sara from the bed, Laila took her right hand and William followed her.

"But mommy, daddy's room is over there!" William yelled when they passed the intensive care and Lorelai only winked at him.

"Will, go ahead, this door!" Lorelai encouraged him when they had arrived.

"This is not daddy's room!" William pouted.

"Well, believe it or not!" Lorelai shrugged.

"I'm walking on air..." Laila finished and giggled. Lorelai giggled with her and noticed the blank look on Sara's face. She wasn't sure if the girl even realized that she was out of her room. Maybe this wasn't a good idea at all. But it was too late now.

William had opened the door and carefully they stepped inside. Luke faced the window on the other opposite side of the door.

Again, when he heard the door he turned his head and looked at them.

Williams eyes got huge and he stared at Luke and Laila mirrored his position. Sara showed no reaction.

Seconds passed, but for Luke and Lorelai they felt like hours when finally William snapped out of his daze.

"Daddy!" he yelled, ran to his father and threw himself into Luke's arms, just as Lorelai had done it that morning. Laila followed and also climbed on the bed, while they hugged their father and both cried.

Lorelai waited until they had at least stopped crying hysterically when she neared the bed with Sara in her arms. She was stiff and her body shook, she seemed in a shock.

William was now lying on Luke's right side, Laila on his left, both had buried their heads into his shoulder, while he soothed them.

Luke looked up at Lorelai and Sara then. His daughter starred at him and was shaking.

"Sara, baby!" Luke called her and touched her leg. She flinched, relaxed and tensed again.

"Daddy!" she whispered then and Lorelai lay her down on top of Luke. Sara cried like Lorelai had never seen a child cry. So desperately and heart -broken.

"Daddy" the girl mumbled . Lorelai sat down on the bed and leaned her forehead against Luke's , while he held their sobbing kids. And that's when Luke Danes started to cry, just as hard as his family.

**TBC**


	27. What tells you that a dog is a dog

**Chapter 27: What tells you that a dog is a dog?**

The fact that her whole family was sitting crying on a hospital bed, herself included, caused Lorelai to laugh when her tears finally subsided. At first she grinned, then laughed and finally she was laughing so hard that she gasped for air. William was the first to look up at her with a confused look.

"Mommy have you lost your mind?" he asked her and Lorelai laughed even harder because of the comment and Luke joined her, then placed a kiss on William's hair.

"Daddy are you done sleeping?" Laila asked Luke and looked at him curiously.

"Other than at night, yeah, I'm done sleeping" Luke nodded and Laila smiled at him.

"Are you coming home then?" William asked and sat up.

"In a while when I am allowed to" Luke answered.

"But I want you to come home now!" Laila whined and pouted.

"Hey Missy, no whining and no tantrums in here, okay? Otherwise you will wait outside!" Lorelai scolded, what caused Laila to cry.

"I want daddy to come home!" she sobbed and held out her arms for her mother to take her, which she did. She lifted the girl off the bed and took her in her arms.

"He will be home very soon, princess. Don't cry. You can visit him every day until he come home himself, that's something, huh?" Lorelai whispered in her ear and stroked her back. Laila only sniffed in her mother's shoulder. Luke looked up at his daughter who had her arms slung around her mother's neck and her legs around her mother's waist, while his wife rubbed her back and stroked over her hair. He felt helpless and frustrated because he was too weak to take her or soother her himself. Laila had always been a mama's girl though, so maybe Lorelai would have done that no matter what.

"Daddy, does that hurt?" William asked and touched the wound on Luke's forehead with one finger while Sara still lay on top of Luke, grasping his shirt tightly in her fists.

"No. It's okay." Luke said and looked at William. William's hair was a bit too long for his taste and there was something in his eyes which hadn't been there before: Fear, shock, sadness and mistrust. His eyes showed what the boy had been through in the past weeks and it made Luke sad, seeing these emotions in his young son's eyes. He didn't know what exactly had happened while he had been in coma or how Lorelai and the kids had dealt with it, but what he saw in his son's eyes didn't paint a good picture. He made a mental note to ask Lorelai about the time.

"How were your soccer games? You won again?" Luke asked, not knowing what else to say.

"I didn't play. Mommy had no time to bring me to the training and without going to the training I am not allowed to play. I lost my spot in the team" William said and looked down, concentrated on his hands.

"Don't worry, you'll be back in the team in no time" Luke tried to calm William.

"Sure" the boy said and gave Luke a forced smile, which worried Luke even more. William had always been a lot like Lorelai, stubborn, wild, active and hyper, but he had never been hiding his emotions before. Luke's staring at him irritated William and he felt uncomfortable because of his father's strange behavior. The conversation was forced and his father was so different than he remembered. He had always been strong, funny and grumpy. Now he was weak, shaking, and a loss for words. He was staring at him strangely and he had been crying, William had never seen his father cry before. He jumped of the bed, avoided his father's eyes and went over to his mother. He hugged her middle from the side and looked up at her.

"Mommy, can we go?" he asked her. Lorelai was surprised that William wanted to leave and it worried her, but she decided not to force him to stay if he felt uncomfortable.

"Do you want to go to Sara's room?" Lorelai asked him and repositioned Laila, so that she was sitting on her left hip. William nodded.

"Laila, honey, do you want to go with Will?" she whispered in her daughters ear and tickled her with one of the pigtails. Laila looked over her shoulder at Luke and Sara, and then nodded.

"Okay, uhm… Luke I will think I will take them back to Sara's room. I'll be back later, okay?" Lorelai said, still confused and placed Laila on the ground.

"Sara, baby, come on, we'll go back to your room" Lorelai said and stroked over Sara's back. She tried to lift her up, but the girl grasped her father's shirt tightly.

"Sara, come on!" Lorelai said and tried to open Sara's fists. The girl started to scream. No words, just a shrill scream, very similar to the one on the day of the accident.

"Leave her alone!" Luke suddenly yelled at Lorelai and she let go of Sara and stepped back.

"Luke, I need to take her back. She can't stay here" Lorelai yelled back, losing her patience, because of the awkward situation.

"Of course she can."

"You are not able to look after her while I am away. She can not stay here with you!" Lorelai screamed. She did not want to leave Sara with Luke, as long as he was this unpredictable.

"But you can? Who jumped in front of that car to save her? Me or you?" Luke yelled back, causing Laila to jump and start crying again, while William stepped in front of his mother.

"Leave mommy alone! You were sleeping for weeks and left us alone, not mommy!" the boy yelled at his father. Luke's eyes were shooting daggers at William and Lorelai became scared over what could happen.

"William, Laila, come on, let's go!" she said, took Laila, when she held up her arms and guided William quickly out of the room, leaving Sara alone with Luke.

* * *

The second the door slammed shut Luke held onto Sara even tighter.

"I'm sorry" he whispered into the girl's ear, whose head was still buried in his shoulder.

Sara lifter her head and looked up at him, a second later. She stared at him without saying a word.

"I'm so happy that you are okay, baby. That's all that matters. You are okay and I will be okay and soon we will be able to go home." Luke said and his voice shook with emotion.

"We two, pretty stupid jumping in front of that car, huh? We better not do that again" Luke tried to joke and glided one hand through Sara's curls with much effort.

"There was blood around your head" Sara whispered, still staring at him.

"Sara, I am fine. The blood is where it should be and my head is okay. At least it will be" he sighed.

"Really?" she asked timidly.

"Really!" he assured her.

"You're mad?" she wanted to know then.

"At you? Why should I be mad at you? I am mad at whoever drove that car, but I could never be mad at you or your mother. It was not your fault!" he told her honestly and got a small smile in response.

* * *

"Daddy is weird" William said when they had arrived at Sara's room. They entered and William jumped on the empty bed. Lorelai took a chair and placed it in front of the bed, sat Laila in her lap.

"I know Will, but he will his old self again very soon. He just needs time. He's feeling crappy and he did not want to yell at me. When you're sleeping as long as your daddy did you're not feeling good afterwards. The doctor told me that and he also told me not be angry with your daddy. Give him a few days and he will be all sunshine again!" she explained.

"Okay, but if he yells at you again, I will also yell at him!" William said and nodded.

"Will, that's very chivalrous of you, but I am able to yell at your daddy myself." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"When daddy is back home, he will be the man in the house again, right?" William wanted to know after thinking for a minute.

"Actually he is the man in the family again, Will, so you can go back to being a little boy again" Lorelai said with a serious expression.

"Will I still be your hero?" he asked with a pout.

"You will always be hero, no matter what!" Lorelai laughed and tickled him, before she laid Laila on the bed beside her brother.

"Can I leave you two alone here for a minute? I need to get Sara for her physical therapy" Lorelai informed them and stood up.

"Can we watch TV?" Laila asked.

"Okay, but don't tell your daddy" Lorelai laughed.

"Secret!" both kids yelled and Lorelai left the room after turning on the TV.

* * *

She opened the door to Luke's room without knocking. She was still angry although she knew she shouldn't be.

"And that?" she heard Sara's voice when she stepped in and saw her daughter poking her father with a finger.

"No" Luke smiled.

"And that?" Sara asked again and poked him in the stomach this time.

"No again" Luke still grinned.

"Hey, Nurse Sara, you are examining patient Danes?" Lorelai asked her.

"Daddy is not mad at me" Sara informed her mother.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked her Mother suddenly.

"Why should I be mad at you, baby?" Lorelai was confused.

"I am not mad at you" Lorelai said then forcefully, when Sara remained silent.

"Hon' that this is clear, we need to go back to your room for the physical therapy" Lorelai informed her. Immediately Sara threw her self down on her father again, buried her head in his shoulder and slung her arms around his neck.

"Baby, you can come back afterwards. The therapy is important and I am sure the doctors will come any second for my therapy" Luke said.

"You need therapy, too?" Sara asked and looked up.

"Sure, your daddy also needs to learn walking again" Lorelai explained.

"'kay" the girl nodded and Lorelai picked her up.

"Lorelai" Luke said and held her back by the hand.

"Yeah?" he tucked on her hand and pulled her down to him, kissed her lightly on her lips.

"Come back later?" he asked.

"Sure" she nodded, gave him another peck and walked off with Sara.

* * *

Lorelai came back in the afternoon, because of Sara's therapies and a talk with the psychologist, who was still warning Lorelai.

"Sorry, I couldn't make it earlier" she said when she steppes into the room.

"These guys are crazy! I am going home today!" Luke yelled upset when he heard her. By his voice Lorelai could here that this was a different kind of yelling than this morning, though. Luke was in ranting mode.

"What happened, Hon'?" she asked him, took his hand and sat down on his bed.

"Do you know what they call tests and therapies? Do you know? This morning one of these loons came by with some cards in his hands. Nice little pictures of animals, houses, people, whatever. He showed me one after the other and asked me "What is this?" How old am I? Why shouldn't I suddenly not remember anymore what a house looks like or what a dog is! And then these stupid questions "What exactly tells you that this is a dog, Mr. Danes? Couldn't it be a sheep?" Mmmh, maybe the fact that this WAS a dog, told me that is was a dog and not a sheep! And he wouldn't stop! I asked him after the second card what this crap is for, but he went on and on, showed me a whole damn comic! I was waiting for Pooh the Bear and Micky Mouse! When I yelled at him and told him to stop already otherwise I would throw him out myself he talked about psychological problems, shock state and mood swings. I am not a pregnant woman! Aw, but you know what? He had more "great" tests for me! I got to draw a circle and cube and other nice forms, before he asked me to write my name and those of our kids. Finished? Noooo! He went on! I got to tell him how to make a burger and fries. If I would have gotten to actually cook them I would have thrown them into his face, which would have been a nice picture to draw!" Luke laughed sarcastically and Lorelai kissed him, shutting him up.

"I love ranting Luke!" she smiled at him when she pulled back.

"Good to know" he smiled and sighed.

"How did the physical therapies go?" she asked him and stroked a strand of hair from his forehead.

"It's exhausting. I had no idea what toddlers accomplish when they learn walking. It hurts; it's exhausting and scary when your legs can't carry you.

"I know. Sara hates the therapies." Lorelai sighed.

"Is she participating now?" Luke asked.

"It was a lot better today. Although she refuses to speak with the nurses and the doctors."

"She will be okay" Luke said and squeezed her hand.

"I know. Can I do something for you? Mom took Laila and William home, Sara is asleep, I have time."

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" Luke asked.

"Mmmhh" she pretended to think about it.

"We could make out on your bed?" she grinned then and he laughed.

"I'd like that, but I feel kind of disgusting, because I need to take a shower and shave." He told her then.

"We could do that" she shrugged.

"We can not shower together in here" Luke shook his head.

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter, burger boy. I can help you showering and shave you afterwards. And maybe, if you are a good boy, we can maybe do something to ease your dirty mind" she gave him a devilish smile.

"Ah geez!" he said and blushed.

"Come on, sit up and put your legs here and I get the wheelchair" she told him.

"Lorelai, I don't know.." he hesitated.

"Better me than one of the nurses, or? I mean, call me crazy, but the thought of a young hot nurse washing my husband's hot body doesn't make me feel very good. Especially when I think about them washing your chest and your strong arms and your stomach and your p.."

"Stop! Get the wheelchair!" he said and she giggled before she kissed him passionately, leaving him stunned on the bed when she left to get the wheelchair

**TBC**


	28. Surprise

**Thanks to Kylie and Kari for betaing from time to time, I really appreciate it.**

**I hope that FF is working again, cause from the stats I could see that not all got an alert or something, so you might want to check out the chapter before if you read it already

* * *

****Chapter 28: Surprise**

When Lorelai was entering the hospital a week later she was not sure what she was feeling or what she was supposed to feel. She was happy because both, Luke and Sara, would be going home that day. Her family would be whole again and her husband and her daughter would be where they were supposed to be: Home. She was happy and relieved, but at the same time scared of the time which was lying in front of her.

The worst had already passed and they were both alive, but the problems were far from being solved. Sara was not her old self. She was scared of everything and anything and was only speaking when Lorelai or Luke were talking directly to her. At the nurses, doctors, her brother and her sisters or even her grandparents she just stared with big scared eyes. Since she had found her voice the nightmares had started and were keeping her up every night and caused Lorelai to spend all of her time in the hospital.

Luke was a different case, but not easier. He was participating and he was more than lucky that not much would remain from the accident. Sometimes when he wasn't concentrating he forgot things easily, which added to his frustration of not being able to walk or do a lot of other things. He was getting frustrated with the people surrounding him when they wanted to help him and even more frustrated with himself.

He tried desperately to heal faster, to learn faster, and to remember faster, but his own body and his own health wasn't something he could fix as easily as a broken oven or a creaking door. The strength Lorelai had gained when Luke had woken up faded slowly but steadily with every passing day on which he yelled at the nurses, yelled at the kids and yelled at her. She tried to protect Laila and William from his bad mood as hard as she could, but she couldn't keep them away from him.

The kids were fed up with his behavior and William had told his father straight to his face that he wouldn't visit him anymore if he would keep yelling at him and at his mother. Lorelai had been touched by this gesture, but saddened at the same time, because this was her five year old son, for god's sake and not an adult. So she kept quiet, tried to lighten the mood and laugh the tension away which was hanging so thickly in Luke's room.

He was not all the time in a bad mood. Sometimes when they were alone he let her in and showed her how sad and defeated he felt. He would pull her to him from time to time and hug her like she was his anchor, the only thing left. So she had to be strong again, not only for the kids now, but also for Luke, who depended on her, but pushed her away a second later.

* * *

It was a Saturday when she went to pick them up and she had a headache and a stomach ache, which had nothing to do with her caffeine intake or the junk food she ate. It was that one question that kept running through her mind, which caused this.

"Good morning, hon'" she smiled bravely when she entered Luke's room, alone for the first time since he woke up.

"Hey" he greeted her with a small wave from the bed, on which he was sitting, his packed bags beside him.

"You're ready?" she asked him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Yeah, this nurse... Sandy… Sally… whatever insisted to pack the bags, I told her to stop it, but she wouldn't listen," he said annoyed.

"Uhm, yeah, Luke I told you last night that I asked Mandy to pack your stuff so we could get out of here more quickly. After picking up your beautiful daughter, of course" she tried to joke.

"My daughter? I always thought she is our daughter" he shot back, but not in a joking-tone.

"You know what? Let's get out of here!" Lorelai said after taking a deep breath.

"Okay," he agreed, took the crutches which leaned against his bed and stood up. Lorelai eyed him suspiciously and shook her head after seeing him struggle to stand upright.

"Luke, you can not walk out of here! Where is your wheelchair?"

"I can walk and I will walk" he said sternly.

"You can barely stand on these things and now you want to walk. I might be stronger than I look like, but I am not able to carry the bags, Sara and you"

"You don't have to carry me, I can walk" he told her again, louder this time.

"Okay, fine. You know what? The car is downstairs in the parking lot. I will go and get Sara and meanwhile you can walk. I give you twenty minutes, if you're not there, fine then you have to walk, which you told me wouldn't be a problem!" she yelled back.

"Oh, now what is that? If you don't want me home then you just have to tell me, I can stay over the diner!" he yelled.

"Sit down, shut up and I will get that damn wheelchair!" she screamed frustrated and marched off.

* * *

When she came back she just pushed the wheelchair in front of Luke and crossed her arms while he struggled to get in. She knew that he could never walk the whole way to the car and he knew it as well, so she couldn't understand why he would start a fight over this. She took the bags and hung them over the handle, while he held his crutches and without saying another word she pushed him to Sara's room.

"Good morning my princess" she smiled when she saw her daughter, who was still lying in her bed under the warm covers.

"Mommy," Sara smiled back and let Lorelai pick her up and kiss her.

"We will now wash you face, brush your teeth and comb your hair and then we will fly out of here, okay?" Lorelai asked her and placed another kiss on her daughter's hair. Sara nodded.

Lorelai stood up and brought her over to Luke, so she could greet him and then took her daughter to the bathroom, left Luke alone in Sara's room. She didn't hurry in the bathroom, maybe took a little more time than usual to get her daughter ready and made her hair extra nice.

When they emerged the bathroom, Luke still had the same annoyed look on his face and Lorelai decided to ignore him even longer. Silently she handed Sara to him, so the girl could sit on his lap, before she took Sara's bags, which she had packed the evening before, and they left the room which had been her daughter's home for two months.

After signing the release papers and saying good bye to the nurses and doctors Lorelai pushed the wheelchair out of the building and to the car. She took Sara, placed her in her seat and buckled the seatbelt, took the bags and threw them into the trunk and slammed it shut. Luke meanwhile sat in the wheelchair the whole time, observing her, but didn't say a word.

When she opened the door on the passengers' side and rolled the wheelchair in front of it, before she stepped back, he looked at her surprised.

"You said you can walk, then you can also get into the car by yourself" she said in a bitter tone, hurt clearly audible. Luke shrugged, leaned on his crutches and tried to get up. Lorelai saw him trying to get up. She wasn't aware that she bit her lower lip or that her eyes welled up until the first tear dropped on her hand. Quickly she wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand and the movement got Luke's attention. Helplessly he looked at her, how she wiped away the tears she shed because he wasn't able to stand up by himself and he felt like crying with her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly and out of breath and fell back down in the wheelchair. Lorelai took the crutches from him and helped him standing up, like the therapist had shown her. Finally he was taller than her again and reminded her a bit more of the man he had been before the accident. Luke leaned against the open door and pulled her towards him, hugged her close, so that her head lay on his chest. She slung her arms around his waist and sniffed in his shirt. This hug was not for him, but for her and that felt so good.

"Come on, cowboy, let's go home" she said and gave him a small smile, before she helped him into the car.

* * *

"Laila and Will are home?" Luke asked when she started the engine.

"Yeah, with Rory, Mom and Dad." Lorelai informed him and drove them back home.

When they passed the town-square and the diner, Luke tensed in his seat and Lorelai took his hand.

"The diner is closed" Luke observed.

"I know, James and Andy wanted to have a free weekend once in a while and Lane has a gig today."

"Okay" he nodded and stared at the place where the accident had happened. It looked like before, like nothing had changed at all. When they pulled into the driveway Luke smiled and squeezed Lorelai's hand, which he still held in his.

* * *

"Mom, dad!" Rory and the kids ran out the door, opened the door and tackled Luke in his seat.

"Hey" Luke laughed and hugged Rory, Laila and Will. Rory pulled away after a moment and went to the backseat and took Sara out, hugged her as well.

"Welcome back you two" she laughed and kissed her little sister, who only looked at her.

James and Andy came out of the house a moment later and helped Lorelai with the wheelchair and the bags and wheeled Luke to the house and carried the wheelchair up the steps. Lorelai followed with Laila in her arm and William at her hand and Rory carried Sara inside.

Just when they had passed the doorway a loud "Surprise!" echoed through the house, chanted by all the crazy townsfolk which gathered in their living room.

"Mommy" was the first thing Lorelai heard after the loud chant of the town and she saw Sara's panicked look and took her from Rory. Luke turned around and raised his eyebrows in worry. Lorelai gave him a small smile and handed Laila over to him.

"It's okay baby. Look you know all these crazy people. They are here because they are so happy you're back home" she whispered to Sara, who had buried her head in her mother's shoulder. One after the other inhabitant of Stars Hollow greeted Luke, talked to him, shared some gossip with him and assured him that he could always count on them when he needed any help. Lorelai held a short speech, with Sara still in her arms and thanked everyone for their help during the last months and in the end the whole thing ended like every celebration in this town: with music and lots and lots of alcohol.

* * *

Luke had insisted to sit on the couch and not in the wheel chair and when William wanted to show him something he took the crutches and walked slowly and with a lot of effort and pain behind his son and followed him.

"So, Daddy, look what Grandma and Grandpa and Laila and me made for you," the boy smiled proudly and opened the door to the guestroom. Inside Luke's night-table stood beside the bed, along with the photos he had on it. His clothes were in the dresser and basically all of his stuff from upstairs had been brought to the guestroom. Luke stared in disbelieve into the room while William chatted away excitedly, together with Laila, who had joined them.

"Lorelai!" Luke suddenly yelled through the house and William and Laila looked shocked at their father.

"Luke, honey, is everything okay?" Lorelai asked worried when she hurried into the room. She looked around, saw what had taken place and saw the scared looks in her kids' eyes.

"Will, Laila would you go upstairs and get ready for bed. Grandma is already up there helping Sara. I'll be with you in a second" she said and while Laila hurried upstairs immediately, William stayed.

"Mommy…" he started and took her hand.

"Will, please go. Everything is okay" she smiled, gave his hand a squeeze and placed a kiss on his forehead. Slowly he walked outside and Lorelai closed the door behind him.

"Luke, I had no idea" she said as soon as the door shut.

"Of course not. Suddenly our five year old son thinks 'Great, let's move daddy out of his room and into the guestroom'" Luke hissed.

"I don't know what he thinks or what he thought. I can only assure you that I have nothing to do with this" she said and gesticulated wildly.

"You don't wanna have me in the bedroom anymore, just tell me, but don't give me this crap about our kids doing this" he yelled.

"I have nothing to do with this! But maybe if you would look around you could see that they put a lot of thought into this. Will even drew you pictures and hung them up." She yelled back and pointed at the pictures beside the window.

"Oh very nice, but not MY bedroom"

"Maybe there is a reason why they did this? Have you thought about how I am going to get you up and down the stairs by myself?"

"So you did know about this! If I am such a burden to you that you don't wanna have me here maybe you should have left me in the hospital"

"Yeah, maybe that would have been better because there I could leave with the kids when you suddenly decided to attack us, while here we can't escape. I tell you something now and I want you to listen to me very carefully: I lived through two days of not knowing if you would live or die, I went through six weeks of you in coma and Sara not talking, I talked to doctors and psychologist, I managed the Inn and the diner, the kids and the house, even the stupid guinea-pigs all by myself. But ever since you woke up all you can do is yell at me and the kids and I can't stand it anymore! While you were asleep we, meaning Sara, Laila and especially William went through hell and you were to busy grumping and yelling to even ask what happened during those weeks. You can yell at me all you want, maybe I will yell back, maybe I will cry, it doesn't matter, but you will not yell at the kids, do you understand me?" she yelled at him, angry, disappointed, exhausted and hurt, before she turned around, slammed the door shut and left him alone in his new room, asking herself the same question again: How was this going to work?

**TBC**


	29. Sleep with interruptions

**Wow, if the stats of the show get as bad as the ones of this story then the show will surely not get an eighth season. You guys must really hate the show at the moment. I hope I'll give you at least a happier alternative with this story.

* * *

****Chapter 29: Sleep with interruptions**

After Lorelai left him alone in the room he was not sure what to do. He wanted to follow her and talk to her about it, but he was exhausted and doubted that he could muster up the strength to walk back into the living-room again. And the house was still full of people and he really didn't want to fight with her in front of them. Honestly, he didn't want to fight at all. He was sick of his own bad mood, of his yelling and screaming and at the same time, he couldn't act differently.

William's and Laila's looks had gotten to him and he wished he could take all the harsh words back and just tell them how horrible he felt, how self conscious he was and how weak he still was, even after all those therapies. He was their father though and he had to be strong for them, make them believe that he could deal with everything. He wanted them to know him only as strong as he had been before this accident, but he wasn't as strong anymore, both physically and emotionally.

So he sat down on the bed when his arms started to shake and he knew his legs would give in any second. He lay his head down on the pillows, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Suddenly he heard a strange noise and sat up again with a lot of effort. When he succeeded he saw what had caused the noise and had to smile: William had placed Meeko's and Barney's cage, along with the two inhabitants, next to his bed. A rant about pets in the bedroom appeared in his head, about the unsanitary of it all, but he pushed it aside, he was touched by the gesture.

Meeko looked curiously up at him and Luke took the guinea-pig out of his cage and sat it down in his lap, petted it a bit. The little pet lay down comfortable and Luke was sure that if it would have been a cat, it would have purred.

After a while he sat the little guy back into his cage, took of his shoes and lay down again.

He heard when the townspeople left, he heard when Emily and Richard left, he heard Lorelai and Rory cleaning up the mess after the party and he heard them both walk upstairs.

He also heard the bedroom doors and the bathrooms doors, the running water and their way back into the bedrooms.

When everything was finally quiet after nearly two hours, he was still awake and couldn't sleep. This wasn't how his first night at home was supposed to be. He was supposed to be happy, in his own bed, beside his wife. He tossed and turned for another hour and then finally fell asleep.

* * *

It was around two in the morning when Luke woke up, because he heard a noise. With one hand he fumbled for the lamp on the nightstand and switched it on when he finally found it. He looked down to the side where the cage stood and looked directly into William's scared blue eyes, which were filled with tears. The boy opened his mouth to say something, but not a sound came out.

"Will, what are you doing here?" Luke asked surprised, but not angry.

"I just wanted to check on Meeko and Barney" he sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. He took a deep breath then faced his father again.

"Don't yell at them please, you will scare them. And don't yell at me now, in the morning, okay? Mommy's finally asleep" he said with a shaking voice and looked his father in the eyes the whole time.

"Oh, Will, come here," Luke sighed and held out his hand, which William took after hesitating a second. He stood beside the bed and looked at Luke who still lay in bed.

"I am sorry for yelling at you so much. I'm just not feeling very good, but I know that is no excuse, so I want you to know that I am really sorry" Luke told him.

"It's okay, daddy. Just don't yell at mommy, 'cause she is crying all the time 'cause she's so sad since the accident" William said and sniffed again.

"Come here" Luke said and tucked at William's hand. Luke rolled on his side and William lay down beside him.

"Does it still hurt, daddy?" William whispered.

"No, it's fine. It's just really exhausting and embarrassing to learn walking again"

"Why?"

"Because I have no more strength in my muscles and because of the stupid coma I get cramps and that hurts" Luke informed him and wiped William's last tears away with his thumb.

"What is coma, daddy?" William asked.

"That's what the doctors call it when one sleeps for a very long time without waking up" Luke explained.

"Mommy said to Rory that she is scared you don't wake up anymore when you were sleeping and she said she is failing with the kids and because she has to take the pills so she wouldn't yell at us and hit us anymore" William said and started to play with the buttons of the flannel shirt Luke still wore.

Luke had no idea about which pills William was talking and he couldn't picture Lorelai hitting the kids. With these little details William had given Luke a short glimpse into what he had missed. William wasn't the person to talk about all of this though; he was five and the child here.

"I am glad that I woke up, because I would never want to leave you and your mommy alone. I just need some more time to learn walking again and to adjust and then everything will be fine again."

"Promise?"

"Promise!" Luke said.

"Cross m heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye?" William asked.

"You mother taught you that, huh?" Luke asked with a smile.

"Yeah, mommy says you need to say that otherwise a promise isn't a promise" William explained, but smiled as well.

"Your mother is crazy"

"Yeah" William giggled and suddenly yawned loudly.

"I see someone's a bit tired"

"I'm so tired I can't walk" William said over dramatically and reminded Luke once again how much he had from his mother.

"Since I can't carry you, because I am barely able to hold up myself I think the only possibility is that you sleep in here with your old father"

"Good night daddy" William beamed up at him and gave him a kiss

"Good night Will, sleep tight" Luke whispered back and slung his arms around his son, who snuggled into him as close as he could.

Within minutes Luke was also asleep again.

* * *

The next morning Luke was woken up by something touching his face and when he opened his eyes he found Lorelai sitting on his bed, caressing his face. When she saw that he had opened his eyes, she pulled back her hand really fast, as if she had burned herself.

"Sorry" she said and got up, but Luke held her back.

"Good morning" he whispered and pulled her back down.

"Seems like you've had a visitor last night" Lorelai whispered back and pointed to William.

"Yeah, he had the urge to check on his guinea-pigs at two am" Luke told her.

"He wasn't checking on Meeko and Barney" she said.

"I know" Luke nodded and placed a kiss on William's forehead, while the boy kept sleeping.

"What time is it?" Luke asked and turned his head to look at the alarm clock, but couldn't see it.

"Seven" Lorelai said and stroked over William's hair.

"Why are up at seven o' clock on a Sunday?" Luke asked with raised eyebrows.

"Couldn't sleep" she shrugged. Luke thought for a second about asking her about the pills, but it was too early and with William sleeping beside them, it wasn't the place either.

"Why don't you lye down for some more time?" he asked her instead and held up the cover for her to lye down. She snuggled under the cover and laid her head on his chest, which was partially occupied by William's head.

"I really want you in our bedroom", she told him after a minute of silence.

"I know," he just said and stroked her hair. They both closed their eyes and enjoyed the nearness, but neither couldn't go back to sleep.

* * *

They lay in silence for another two hours until the door slammed open and Laila stood in the door, with a confused look on her face.

"Mommy, Sara wants you" she said while she still looked confused on the three figures in bed.

"Urgh, I don't wanna get up," Lorelai groaned and Luke laughed.

"I can get her" William suddenly said.

"Hey, honey, you're awake" Lorelai smiled at him.

"Uhuh, should I get her?"

"Will, I really appreciate it and I know that you are freakishly strong, but I doubt that you can carry Sara down the stairs. You stay here, I go and get her," Lorelai told him and got out of the bed.

"Mommy, I am hungry" Laila said after Lorelai had kissed her.

"Ok I go and get Sara and then I'll make breakfast, okay?"

"Mommy, can't daddy make the breakfast? Your pancakes are always burned or just yucky" William interfered with a disgusted look on his face.

"You are so going to pay for that comment, Mister! My pancakes were perfect!" Lorelai said and pouted.

"Mommy they were really yucky" Laila told her and giggled when Lorelai crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Mean!" she said and sniffed, all drama-queen.

"I'm making the breakfast, but only if you help me" Luke said still laughing.

"Yay, finally!" William yelled in victory.

"Okay, you traitors, then go upstairs and get dressed at least and tell Sara I'll be with her in a sec'" Lorelai told them in a normal tone again and the two ran off.

"You're sure you can cook?" Lorelai asked Luke and sat back down on the bed, beside where he was sitting now.

"Sure, I will make the batter with the kids and you just have to bake them."

"I really burned them all" she admitted and smiled.

"I will tell you when to flip them" Luke smiled back.

"Wow, so you're making me a professional?" she asked and started to laugh then.

"Dirty" she giggled.

"Go and get Sara" he said with an eye roll.

"You're okay here? You need any help? The wheelchair maybe?" she asked and tensed, not knowing what reaction she had to expect. Luke only kissed her for a moment, though.

"I'm good," he assured her and gave her another peck.

"Good" she smiled, stood up and left the room to go and get Sara ready.

**TBC**


	30. Luuuke

**I had an idea, I even think I had a great idea for this chapter. I little suprise for you. I was told it's as funny as I pictured it in my head and I really hope you concure.**

**Something lighter after all this drama ;)**

**Tell me if you like it!**

**And thanks to Kylie for betaing!

* * *

****Chapter 30: Luuuke**

Luke had made breakfast with the help of his family and they had actually spent a nice time together. Lorelai was always on edge and just waited for the outburst to happen at any second, but it never happened. Luke sat in his wheelchair and joked with the kids. He was like a new person and Lorelai could only stare at him in wonder. She asked herself what might have happened the night before with William and Luke. What had William said or done?

The kids, even Sara, were playing in William's room after breakfast while Lorelai washed the dishes and Luke dried them. The whole thing passed in silence, which was uncommon for them. The tension from the night before was somehow back and surrounded them.

"I think we should talk" Luke said when they were nearly finished.

"Yeah, sure" Lorelai shrugged, not really eager about this talk, because she knew it would end in another screaming match with Luke's mood at the moment.

"You have time now?" Luke asked.

"Not really. I have to go and check on the Inn. Maybe tonight?"

"Okay, tonight" Luke agreed and sounded a bit defeated. Lorelai heard it, but she just couldn't take another screaming match at that point and where else could she escape to than the Inn? She only had to convince the kids that spending the day at the Inn would be a nice idea. She wasn't really sure what they could do since it was too cold and too dangerous for them to play outside and Sara still couldn't really walk.

"When will you be back so I can have the dinner ready?" Luke asked and stood up from his wheelchair slowly and with the support of the kitchen table.

"We will leave when I have the kids and their stuff ready and I think we'll be back around five" Lorelai explained and put away the last pans.

"You're taking the kids with you?" Luke asked and stood now with the help of the crutches.

"Yeah, of course" Lorelai shrugged. Luke looked down and stared at the floor for a moment.

"Why "of course"? I can take care of my kids!" he said accusingly.

"Luke, please. You can not walk and you can not enter all the rooms with wheelchair cause sometimes the doorframes are too small, not to speak of upstairs. They could go everywhere and you wouldn't be able to see them." She explained and tried to keep her voice even.

"So you won't let me take care of m own kids?" he said and his voice shook.

"Of course hon', it's not about that. If you are able to walk again I am happy to let you look after them all day and night, but not right now."

"So if I won't be able to walk ever again you will never let me take care of them ever again?" he yelled now.

"Luke, please, don't talk like that." Lorelai said and sounded defeated and shocked.

"Like what? It's possible Lorelai. I don't know that and you don't know that either. I could stay a cripple for the rest of my life! And then what? What? You're keeping me locked in here and you'll do everything alone?"

"You will walk again. Everything will be okay again. I know that! So stop with this stupid speech and stop yelling at me" she yelled back, close to tears.

"You don't know that! And the kids will stay here! I can look after them" he still yelled and his knuckles turned white from gripping the crutches so tight.

"You know what? Do whatever you like. I can't stand this at the moment. We had such a nice morning and now you're ruining it. I'm out of here, don't know when I'll be back." She said and hurried out of the kitchen without caring if Luke could walk out or not. She stopped in the living room where her kids were now sprawled on the couch.

"Hey kids. I am going to the Inn for a while and your Daddy will stay here with you. Will, if you need me you know the speed dial number?"

"Two" he nodded.

"Good. Call me if you need me and I'll be back later this evening, okay? Behave yourselves" she told them.

"We will. Bye mommy!" William smiled and she hugged him for a second and placed a kiss on his forehead, before she kissed the twins goodbye and left.

* * *

It took Luke a while to walk from the kitchen to the living-room and he thought at one point that he couldn't make it when his legs started to shake and his arms got numb.

But he succeeded and plopped down in the armchair beside the couch.

"What are you watching?" he asked out of breath.

"Daddy is walking hurting you too?" Sara addressed him and ignored his question after she had studied him for a second.

"The crutches are hurting my hands, yes" he nodded and didn't want to admit that his muscles were cramped all the time and he had a major aching muscles.

"Is this our wedding video?" Luke asked when he took a longer look at the screen.

"Uhuh, mommy showed it to us while you were sleeping and we watched it together before going to bed. Now we wanna show Sara" William explained.

"Look, now there is mommy walking down the lane" Laila said excitedly when Lorelai appeared on the screen.

"Down the aisle, princess" Luke laughed and then watched Lorelai walking towards him on the screen. God, she had been beautiful that day. But then: When wasn't she?

He watched them exchange their vows, watched them kiss.

"Daddy, can I sit in your lap?" Laila suddenly brought him out of the daze the wedding video had put him in.

"Yeah sure" he said and pulled her in his lap.

"Am I hurting you?" she asked then.

"No you're not" he smiled and kissed her cheek, then focused back on the screen. He saw them smile and joke about the wedding cake. He saw them unwrap the gifts and the small jeans jacket and he saw them dance and wondered if he would ever be able to do that again.

William and Laila babbled the whole time through the video and always told Sara what would come next. They knew the whole video by heart.

* * *

The video was three hours long and when Luke had joined them only an hour had passed so he sat with them for two more hours through the video and they just wanted to rewind it and watch it again when the doorbell rang.

"Will, could you go and ask who is…" Luke couldn't get any further cause the next second a scream could be heard, Laila was taken away, he was pulled up and embraced very hard.

"Oh my big brother I am so happy you are okay!" Liz sobbed at his chest and all he could do was to pat her back. Then she pulled away as sudden as the embrace had been and he fell back down into the armchair when Liz pulled the kids into her arms and kissed them one after the other.

Luke meanwhile was faced by TJ.

"Luuuke, can ya understand me?" he asked and talked very slowly

"Yes, TJ" Luke only sighed

"Luuuke, do ya know who I am?" he wanted to know next.

"TJ, how could I ever forget you" Luke remarked sarcastically.

"Oh, Luke" TJ sniffed and suddenly started to cry and hugged him even harder than Liz had before.

"I am so glad you're okay. You're my favourite brother in law and I don't wanna lose ya" he sobbed and Luke looked helplessly down at him.

"Liz" he said finally and pointed to TJ.

"Ah, hon' give him some air to breathe!" she told TJ and he let go of Luke, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"You know when we came back from the faire and found the messages on our answering machine saying you were in an accident and all, boy was I scared. But Lorelai said then that you are awake and okay, but I thought "Let's go and visit him" and here we are! Tada!" she smiled and hugged Luke again briefly.

"Ah, TJ, where is Gary junior?" She asked then and looked around.

"I think he's still outside sitting on the car" TJ shrugged.

"You mean in the car?" Luke asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, you know, our little guy likes to sit on the hood when it is still warm." Liz explained with a hand wave.

"I don't even want to ask why" Luke muttered and he and William exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Gary was a few months older than William, but he was more like his father than was probably good for him and even William had understood that when he had been two.

"You know he likes when his butt is warm and all, I mean, who doesn't like it?" TJ said and the girls started to giggle.

"So, uhm, now that you are here… you wanna drink or something?" Luke offered

"Yeah, sure I'll have a beer!" TJ said and sat down on the couch.

"TJ" Liz said in a threatening voice and immediately he stood up again.

"You want a beer?" he asked Luke then.

"How nice of you to offer me one of my own beer" Luke said with a snort.

"Hey, I just wanna help, man" TJ held up his hands in defeat.

"Nah, it's okay, just get me a glass of water" Luke sighed and gave up.

"I can get you one, daddy" William jumped in.

"Nah, Will, just stay here I go and get the drinks" Liz said and pinched his cheek.

"Ah geez" he muttered and rubbed his cheek when she went into the kitchen, what caused the girls to giggle again.

* * *

"Would you excuse me for a second?" Luke said then, stood up and walked towards the bathroom with his crutches.

"Hey Luuuke?" TJ's voice started him that much that Luke nearly lost his balance.

"Geez TJ, don't creep around like that!" Luke said annoyed.

"I just thought you might need a little help, buddy" TJ said and patted his shoulder.

"With what should I need help, buddy" Luke emphasized the last word.

"You know maybe holding these two things" TJ pointed to the crutches, "and the other… thing might be a little difficult all at once" TJ explained and winked at him.

Luke needed a second to get what he meant then his face wrinkled in disgust.

"God, TJ! Just… go into the living room!" Luke said then with force and pointed to the living room with his right crutch.

"Okay, okay, buddy. Stay cool!" TJ said and marched off.

"Gah!" Luke yelled before he went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

* * *

When he came back out Sara was sitting crying on the couch, while William and Laila both hit TJ and Liz tried to pull them away.

"Hey, stop that!" Luke said and sat back down in the armchair and pulled Sara over to him.

"He took her lollipop away!" William yelled and pointed his index finger right at TJ's nose.

"She wouldn't let me lick and I love the strawberry one's" TJ pouted and held the rest of the lollipop out for Luke to take it. Luke just raised his eyes brows and kissed Sara's cheek a few times to calm her.

"Here, honey you have a new one" Liz smiled and handed the girl another one. Sara smiled thankfully at her aunt and Luke let it go this one time, because in general he hated lollipops.

"Why can she have one and I can't? That isn't fair!" TJ whined.

"They are for the kids" Liz said and looked around the room.

"Gary's still out there?" she asked.

"Yup" TJ just made, still pouting.

"Oh, hon, come on, go and get him" Liz said and stroked over TJ's head.

"Okay, okay, but only cause the hood will sure be cold by now" he muttered, stood up and went outside.

"God, how can you stand this guy?" Luke shook his head.

"What can I say? I love him, big bro'" Liz shrugged and crouched down in front of him.

"You're really okay?" she asked quieter and more serious.

"No, but I will be eventually" he said and gave her a small smile.

"Mommy, my butt is warm, see!" Gary junior yelled when he ran inside the house and leaned over so that his mother could touch his butt.

"It's really warm" she said after she felt, what caused William, Laila and Sara to erupt in laughter again.

"Where is your father?" Liz asked her son.

"He started the car and is sitting on the hood now. I'm going back out" Gary informed them and ran back out.

"Liz, they really shouldn't sit out there in the cold" Luke said.

"Ah, they do that all the time" Liz said.

"Where is Lorelai?" Liz asked then and sat down on the couch and put Laila in her lap.

"At the Inn, she has to check on some things" Luke explained and from his tone Liz knew that something was wrong.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, well… more or less. The usual" Luke tried to avoid a real answer and Liz knew it.

"Okay, we'll talk later. I mean, we have lots and lots of time!" Liz smiled happily.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked and raised his eyebrows. He knew nothing good could come out of his sister being that happy.

"We decided to stay for a week or two until Gary has to go back to school. It's great isn't it?" she grinned.

"What? But you can not stay here. We have no room" Luke exclaimed.

"Oh don't worry big bro', we already brought our stuff to the apartment above the diner." Liz said and gave Laila a kiss on the cheek before she started to tickle her.

"Luuuke, look, my butt is burning up!" TJ yelled the next second and held his butt in front of Luke.

"William call your mother right now!" was all Luke said, but William was rolling on the couch laughing, so it would take a while.

**TBC**

** Please tell me if you liked it!**


	31. If you feel the urge

**So, new chapter. I really hope you like that one, because it is an important chapter. Also there will be a little voting thing at the end, cause I need your opinion on a thing. But read the chapter first!

* * *

****Chapter 31: If you feel the urge...**

Another week later Liz, TJ and Gary were still in Stars Hollow and spent every waking minute at the Danes' house, driving the whole family crazy. Luke and Lorelai had agreed a long time ago, that Liz was really the only person who they both could tolerate longer than a second of this family. Even the kids were unnerved from Gary and tried to hide whenever he entered the house.

They spent at lot of time at Sookie's playing with Martha and Davey and Lorelai thanked god every day for her own personal escape that was called the "Dragonfly Inn." Luke, on the other hand, had no excuse to escape them for a while, except for his physical training everyday, but even then Liz insisted that they drove him there, so that Lorelai could work without interruption.

Lorelai was grateful for that, because this was usually the only time Luke and her had to spend a longer time alone together during the day. And usually they would fight or keep silent the whole ride and back. It also meant though, that they never had a moment to themselves and although Luke and her didn't have the best relationship at the moment, they started to miss each other, which was crazy, considering the fact that they lived in the same house, eating breakfast and dinner together and saw each other several times a day, only never alone. They were always surrounded by the kids or the crazy relatives.

* * *

So when they met alone for the first time after a week, it was another Sunday, the kids were with Richard and Emily in a zoo, Liz, TJ and Gary had joined them and Lorelai had to face her even crankier husband, since he was not only frustrated by his situation and the baby steps he took in his recovery, but also annoyed by Liz and her family. Lorelai thought about hiding at the hotel again, but then decided against it. She wanted to stay home and relax and if that meant that she had to face her husband, so it should be.

After the kids had left with their grandparents and their aunt and uncle, Lorelai had taken a long bath upstairs, soaking in the warm water for a long time. Afterwards she had taken her time using a facial mask, body peeling and other cosmetics for her hair. She had painted her nails and dried her hair and when she walked into her bedroom she felt great. She tried to push back the thought about Luke being alone downstairs and calmed herself with the knowledge that he was able to walk on the crutches now and that he could go wherever he wanted. And if he would really need something, he could call her.

* * *

Luke knew what she was doing. He was aware of the fact that she was hiding upstairs and avoided him, like she had done since he was back from the hospital. They had had some more minor arguments during the last week and Liz and TJ were not helping his nerves. He loved his sister and his nephew, but they were driving him crazy and TJ was just… Luke couldn't even describe how much he was annoying him. The bad thing was that TJ never meant any harm and he never meant to annoy him. He only wanted to help, but that only made it worse.

But Luke also knew that he had to do something. William's words about hitting and pills were still echoing in his head and during the last week. He had desperately waited for an opportunity to talk to her, but it never came. When he heard her leaving the bathroom, he hoped that she would come downstairs and join him in the living-room, but no such luck.

He debated internally for another half hour what to do, if he should call her, or wait some more, wait for another opportunity, but he knew that the longer he waited the bigger the distance between the two of them would get. He decided to do it the hard way and made his way upstairs with his crutches. He had to stop several times, because it was exhausting for him, but he succeeded and was relieved when he stood upstairs. He hadn't been there since he had come back from the hospital, he spent all of his time downstairs. He walked to the bedroom, opened the door and peeked inside. Lorelai was lying on his side of the bed, facing a way from him, reading a book. She didn't react when he walked inside and he thought she must be reading very concentrated.

When he neared the bed, though, she suddenly spoke up, without turning around.

"Everything alright? Do you need something?" she asked him and he heard in her voice that she had been crying, but she didn't want to show him.

"No, I just want to talk to you" he answered and sat down on the bed and scooted closer to her.

"Luke, I am tired. Another time, okay?" she said and moved away from him.

"Lorelai, please" he pleaded, took her arm and turned her around, so that she was lying on he back and had to face him. She closed her eyes though and tried to stop crying. Luke's heart broke at the sight of her. She looked so beautiful, but so heartbroken at the same time and she was too thin. Luke sighed and lay down on his back and pulled her towards him. She tried to get away, but he was strong enough to keep her pressed against his chest.

"Luke let me go" she pleaded, still trying to wiggle out of his hug.

"Hey, calm down, I am not going to rape you" he tried to joke, but she didn't laugh. It took a while until she relaxed in his arms and enjoyed the nearness.

"I am not here to fight with you" Luke said after a while and felt her stiffen again.

"You said you want to talk. Every time we talk, we fight" her muffled voice could be heard.

"I'm sorry" Luke told her honestly.

"Me, too, but that doesn't change a thing" she replied.

"But we need to talk. We can't put it off forever, because it's driving me crazy" Luke confessed.

"What is there to talk about? You are frustrated and in a bad mood, I can't help you and even if I could, you don't want my help. I'm at the inn, you are here, I sleep upstairs you sleep downstairs, we meet in the morning and in the evening. Nothing to talk about" she said and tried again to get away from him.

"There is so much we need to talk about, Lorelai and you know it. Actually there is something I really need to talk about with you." Luke said and held her even tighter.

"And that's because…?" she asked. Luke took something from the night-table behind him with his left arm and held it in front of her eyes.

"What's that?" he asked, although he knew what it was.

"Gimme that!" she said and took the package out of his hands.

"Lorelai, what is that?" he asked again.

"Pills" she replied and tossed them into the night-table on his side.

"You are still taking them?" he asked when she had lay back down.

"Of course I do, you can't just stop taking the pills and I wasn't sure when I would need them again" she shrugged and nearly jumped off the bed when Luke suddenly started yelling at her.

"God, do you think I am stupid? I know that these are not birth-control pills! I may have problems memorizing things, but I can still tell psychotropics and birth-control-pills apart. Why are you lying at me? Why?" he yelled and she sat up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Stop yelling at me, just stop yelling" she mumbled and started to cry again. Luke took a deep breath to calm himself and then pulled her in his arms again.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm sorry. Lorelai, please, just talk to me" he whispered, held her in his arms and stroked over her hair to calm her.

"I am so ashamed" she mumbled then and tried her face on his shirt.

"There is no need to be ashamed about taking those pills. But we need to do something, so that you won't need them anymore" he assured her and kissed her forehead.

"I am not ashamed about those pills, well not only about them" she said and sat up, leaning against the head-board of the bed.

"What happened here, Lorelai? Will indicated some things and I don't know what to make of them" Luke said and took her hand in his. He needed a connection to her, so that she couldn't pull back and he couldn't lose it again.

"I failed Luke. I completely failed while you lay in coma. I couldn't take it and I couldn't handle it all. I let Kirk take charge of the diner at first, because I didn't know what to do and then James and Andy took over. I messed up the orders at the Inn and Michel had not only to do his job, but correct my mistakes as well. I forgot guests and meetings, I ordered the wrong towels and I forgot to confirm reservations, which made us lose some guest and a lot of money. But the worst.." her voice broke and she needed a moment to compose herself.

"The worst is that I messed up at home. I couldn't take care of the kids. I yelled at them and I even hit them. I hit our kids, Luke and not only once. I just lost it completely when only the tiniest thing went wrong. And one day Will set the toaster on fire and I really hit him. I slapped Laila as well, but I really spanked him and not only gave him a slap. He was crying and screaming, but I didn't stop. I don't even know anymore where I hit him and when he could get out of my grasp he took Laila and ran upstairs with her and locked them in the bathroom. Jo found me downstairs in god knows what position. He found the kids and brought them to my parents where they spend the next two days. You know, they were so great all the time, Will tried to take your role. He tried to be there for me and to look out for his sisters and I beat him up. Afterwards they were so scared of me, that they called my mother when they wanted something to drink and they tiptoed around the house, not making a noise. But I just.. I couldn't deal with them, or with any of it. You were lying in that bed and more and more time went by and you didn't wake up. I knew I couldn't do it alone, but I had no choice and the kids needed me, but I couldn't give them anything. I only felt empty and drained and I wished that you would wake up. But then again I was scared how you would be if you woke up. The doctors were talking about the possibility of brain damage more and more. I hoped that you were okay, but then again, what would you do if you would see me? I was the reason why you were lying in that bed and why Sara was not speaking anymore. Every time I visited you I wished that you would be happy about it and wake up, but you didn't and then I knew that you blamed me for this as much as I blame myself. My mother…" Luke had to interrupt her, because he needed to get this out, before she could go on.

"Lorelai, I told you this already and I will tell you again and again until you finally believe me: This accident was not your fault!"

"But I…" she disagreed and again he interrupted her.

"It wasn't your fault, it wasn't Sara's fault and it wasn't my fault. It was only the fault of this stupid drunken kid, who will get his punishment as soon as the trial starts. If you wouldn't have dragged me out there, I would have gone out myself, because I wanted to spend time with you and the kids. I knew that you would come in and bug me about it. I had only waited for you to come in. Stop blaming yourself for this. This accident could have happened anywhere at any time. We can't control things like that. Call it fate or bad-luck or whatever you want, but don't blame yourself. Sara is okay and I am okay. We will be fine and everything will be alright, okay?" he asked and tipped up her chin, so she had to look at him. He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose when she remained silent.

"Okay?" he asked again.

"Okay" she nodded hesitatingly.

"And now tell me about these pills" he encouraged her and pointed to the night-stand.

"My mother forced me talk to the psychologist at the hospital after the toaster-incident and she gave me those pills. They made me feel better, not as drained anymore. Most of the time I just felt nothing, I was completely numb, which was a nice change. I could deal with the kids again, be there for Sara and visit you without falling apart all the time."

"But I am here now, why do you still need these pills?" he asked her worried.

"I still can't face everything without those pills: the stress at the Inn, the kids needing me, seeing you and Sara struggle to get through your days and you yelling at me. And now Liz and TJ showed up and I'm taking the pills again because otherwise I already would have killed them and us" she confessed.

"I will tell them to leave tomorrow" Luke decided.

"No, Luke they are your family and I don't want you to send them away," she said.

"Lorelai, I know I am anything but easy at the moment and I can understand that you feel like this is all too much. But I don't want you to take these pills anymore. If you have to cry, then cry. If you want to yell back then do it and if you feel the urge to slap me then you're welcome, but don't repress your feelings with these pills. They are not good for you and you can get addicted to this crap. You are already a coffee junkie, I think another addiction would be fatal." he smiled, and kissed her forehead again.

"I don't know if I can deal with everything without the pills." She confessed.

"I am here and I feel better. I am not able to walk as fast as before and I know that I am driving you crazy because I have problems to remember some things, like where I put my keys, but don't shut me out. Let me back in and let me be there for you and the kids. The kids have adjusted to the new situation already and we can do that, too. We can get through this, together." He told her and she looked into his eyes.

"All the time while you were in coma I wished for you to wake up and just be there again. I told myself that I wouldn't care if you would be disabled, deaf, blind, whatever, just as long as we would be together again." She sniffed.

"We are. We are together again. You just have to let me in"

"I know. I'm sorry." She buried her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arms around his middle and enjoyed the feeling of his body wrapped around her.

"I never wanted to spank Will or Laila" she said then.

"I know. And they know that also. I think William is more worried about you than anything else." Luke assured her.

"You talked with him about me?"

"No, he talked with me about you" Luke smiled.

"He is so great. All those weeks he slept here in bed with me and even let me lay my head on his chest, because he was the man in the house and he felt obligated to care for me. We have such great kids, Luke" Lorelai said in awe.

"I know. Each one of them in their own special way, but I have to talk with Will when they come back, because he has to take the pigs out of my bedroom, they are driving me crazy. I honestly can't understand how he can sleep with all that noise they make at night. They eat, they drink, they run around and squeak the whole time. And that Will feels the urge to sleep with me to keep an eye on them isn't really helping, because he sleeps like his mother." Luke grinned.

"What does that mean?" Lorelai shrieked immediately.

"He tosses and turns, he kicks and babbles while he sleeps, just like you do."

"I'm do not! But he also snores and where does he have that from? Not me, that's all I can say!" she said.

"Of course you snore, ask Rory!" Luke shot back and she slapped his chest.

"Liar!" she laughed.

"Luke?" she asked then with a devilish glint in her eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked already knowing that this look could mean nothing good.

"Let TJ and Liz stay" she said then.

"Why?" he asked her surprised.

"Because, you can't be Santa this year and we need one, and what is better then to dress up TJ as Santa?" she giggled.

"The kids will know that there's no Santa as soon as he opens his mouth. On the other hand I like the idea, because I will never wear that stupid costume ever again. This smelly old red coat, with a dozen pillows underneath and the beard and the strange hat. I hate it!" he ranted.

"You really are the Grinch, my friend. Only in flannel and not in green." She laughed and gave him a peck, before she snuggled up to him again.

"The kids will be gone for some time" she mentioned then, and he only nodded.

"Luke?"

"Mmmh?" he made with closed eyes.

"I took a peach scented bath, washed my hair with coconut shampoo and painted my nails. I am smelling good, huh?" she teased him and wiggled her finger in front of his face. Luke opened his eyes, placed a kiss on her hand and smelled on her hair and her neck.

"You smell like fruit salad." He laughed when his comment brought him another slap, on the arm this time.

"You really take me up on this "If you feel like" thing, huh?" he asked, still laughing.

"Well, my subtle hints aren't working anymore!" she whined and pouted.

"Which subtle hints? And what are they saying? Slap me?" he grinned.

"No, you dork! The one's that are saying: Here lies your wife, smelling, great, with sexy painted nails and a skin so soft you just have to touch it .And what are you doing? Laughing about me!" she huffed.

"Aaah, those subtle hints" he grinned

"Okay, you really want me to spell it out for you: I have the urge to make love to you" she said then and blushed a bit, because of her own bluntness. Luke only grinned and then kissed her. The kiss wasn't soft or romantic; it was passionate and deep from the very first second on.

"It's been so long" Luke mumbled between kissed and his hands were busy opening the knot of her bathrobe.

"Too long" she mumbled back and moaned when she felt his hands on her skin and his lips on her neck.

**TBC**

**Okay, here is where I need your opinion: There are two possibilities for the next chapter: A version which continues right there, meaning it is basically dirty, pointless fluff. Or another one where the plot goes on and leaves out the dirty stuff. Tell me which one you want to read**


	32. To love and cherish

**Okay, you asked for it, here it is: The dirty chapter. For those who don't want to read that, just skip it, you won't miss anything important.**

**Thanks again to Laura**

**M-rating for this chapter!

* * *

****Chapter 32: To love and cherish**

Luke brought himself to stop nibbling at her neck for a moment to look at her when he had opened her bathrobe.

"God, I missed you" he whispered and stroked a line with a finger from her throat, down the valley between her breast to her navel. She smiled when he followed his finger with his eyes and the looked back up and into her eyes. The awe that mirrored on his face had made her eyes well up again and she placed a hand on his cheek when he looked at her.

"I love you" she whispered back and resumed kissing him passionately before he had the chance to reply something.

While their tongues played, she unbuttoned his shirt and made him lose the T-shirt he wore underneath the flannel. Her hands roamed over his chest, not slowly, but fast and greedily, like she needed to memorize his body with her hands within seconds.

She pushed him on his back and hovered over him, taking in his body like he had done with hers seconds before, paused in her frenzy. He had some scars on his chest now that he didn't have before the accident and it hurt her to see those. Every one of his scar brought a memory back from the time he was not there. She felt the feelings of these weeks come back to her while she looked at him. Before it could overwhelm her she pressed her lips to these scars, as if to ease the pain in hindsight they had caused him and her.

While she showered his chest with kisses, she opened the jeans he wore and pulled them down. Luke slipped out of them and pulled Lorelai on top of him, so that her half- naked body lay on top of his own.

They kissed until they had to pull away breathlessly, while their hands roamed over their bodies, without stopping for a second. Luke peeled Lorelai out of her bathrobe and pressed her against him, wanting to feel her as close as possible.

She started to rub against him and his hands moved southwards where she wanted him to touch her. She moaned and sighed and kissed him again and again feverishly. They were already panting, and Lorelai wondered for a short moment is this maybe was too much for him, too fast. But she couldn't stop.

After she had stripped him out of his boxer shorts, the heated kissing stopped and she started to worship his body in every way she could. Their moans and groans soon filled the room and soon she straddled his lap and he entered her. They were joined again, the most intimate way possible, a way she had doubted she would ever live again.

This was not about slow and romantic lovemaking though, but about desire, need and longing for each other.

The pace Lorelai set was fast, her fingernails dug into his shoulder-blades, causing red marks on his skin which she soothed with her lips and her tongue. Her legs were slung around his hips, her heels pressing in his back, causing him to keep up with her pace.

Luke's arms were slung around her. He did not caress her, he only pressed her against him, felt like she wasn't close enough.

Soon they tumbled over the edge together, their loud moans filling the room at the same moment.

Lorelai slowed her movements and let her head fall on his sweaty shoulder, while he stroked over her back, both breathing heavily.

After just laying in his arms for some time, she started to kiss along his neck, over his cheek to his mouth. Their tongues found each other again, but this time the kiss was slow and romantic, making up for the missing romance during the act before.

Luke broke the kiss when he felt teardrops falling on his chest. He looked at her and saw that she was smiling brightly, laughing even, but crying. He stroked her tears away with his thumbs and lay his forehead against her forehead.

"I love you, too" he said and smiled just as bright as she did, before he kissed her again.

"Such a cliché that you say this after we had sex" she giggled and nuzzled her nose against his.

"Well, you didn't let me say anything before" he shot back and gave her another long kiss. When he pulled back they were both still smiling and seeing the same idiotic smile on the face of the other, which they knew they wore themselves, caused them to smile even more. While they stared at each other, their bodies still joined, they kissed and kissed and couldn't get enough of the other ones lips.

Lorelai moved her legs after a while and kneeled over is legs. She groaned when she felt a pain in her knees and her hips, caused by the uncomfortable position she had been in.

"Getting old Mrs. Danes?" Luke teased her, but she decided to ignore him, his kisses were more tempting than a playful argument at that moment.

Eventually they had to break apart though and they both sighed in disappointment when he slipped out of her. Luke slid down on the bed and lay down on his back and Lorelai turned on her side and snuggled up to him, her head on his chest, one leg thrown over his thighs

"I really missed this" she said after some moments of quiet caresses and pressed some kisses on his chest. He had gained weight again and the physical training had brought back the muscles he had had before the accident. Not all, but he was getting there.

"Does it sound stupid when I say: me too?" he asked her and she laughed.

"Well concerning the fact that I had to go without it for nearly three months, while you only experienced three weeks, I would say yes, a bit. But you're forgiven" she told him with a smile.

"Very generous of you," he smiled back and gave her another kiss.

"This is so nice. I think I forgot how good this feels. I mean, I wished for this sometimes, just lying in your arms or making love to you, but I never could imagine this contentment. I just couldn't. And now here we are and I am just… I don't know… I don't know if I ever felt this happy, Luke" she told him in a serious tone, but still wearing the smile, which wouldn't leave her face anymore. Luke's answer was another deep kiss, before he took a strand of her hair in his hand and played with it, let it glide through his fingers.

"I hate sleeping downstairs alone and after this… here… I don't think I am able to anymore." He admitted shyly.

"Well, Meeko and Barney are not as sexy as I am" she grinned and he tickled her nose with her own hair strand.

"And not as crazy" he added and placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

"But I am just as cute!" she said in a girly voice and pouted.

"Cuter" he grinned. She took his hand out of her hair and played with his fingers, stroked over his wedding-ring.

"When they gave me your things in a plastic bag after the operation and I saw that they had taken your wedding ring off, I felt like they ripped out my heart. It's stupid, I know, but the thought that you could… that you could have died during the operation without your wedding ring on made me nauseous. I wanted you to wear it, to know that we had a connection somehow, even if it is just a ring." She said and concentrated on the ring he wore again, turned it on his finger.

"It is not just a ring. It is maybe the most treasured possession I own, but I don't think we need it to have a connection, Lorelai. With or without this ring, we will always have a connection. It's right here" he said and lay there joined hands over her heart.

"This is probably the sweetest and cheesiest thing you ever said to me" she said mockingly, but the admiration shone through.

"Don't get used to it, this was a one time thing" he shot back and kissed her hand.

"This" she said and motioned between the two of them "was certainly not a one time thing, honey. I expect you to make me happy on a regular basis again, Mister. This is your duty as my husband". Luke raised his eyebrows.

"It is my duty as your husband to sleep with you on a regular basis? Where in our vows is that defined?" he asked. She took her head from his chest and leaned on one elbow.

"You vowed "to love and cherish" me and that includes that fabulous body of mine as well as the selfless person that I am" she clarified and he had to laugh.

"Seems like you missed my body the most" he chuckled.

"Well, your body was right there, but I think the flesh was willing but the spirit was weak, or how goes that saying?" she laughed.

"Seems like I have to make it up to you, huh?" he said and rolled on top of her.

"So the spirit is willing now?" she asked

"Very willing" he mumbled, and brought his lips to her collarbone.

"Like the flesh" she giggled and stroked over his hair, while his mouth found the way to her breasts.

* * *

"Luke?" she asked him when he started to placed kisses on her stomach.

"Mmh?" came the muffled response from below.

"Don't you think this is a bit too much?"

"What?" he asked and looked up.

"I mean, not that I am complaining, but two times? Don't you think it's too much for you?" she asked worried.

"I go through three hours of physical training every day, I think I'll be fine" he assured her and went back to what he had been doing.

This time it was slow and full of tenderness. It had nothing to do with the needy and fast experience before. They took their time to discover their bodies anew, see the changes and observe the reactions of the other, but it was just as satisfying and fulfilling.

* * *

Afterwards they found themselves in the same position again, he on his back and her lying halfway on top of him on her side.

"See, I knew you would appreciate the fact that I am smelling so great" she sighed with closed eyes.

"We have to shower before they get back" he replied, also with closed eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked him. Luke groaned when he lifted himself up to look at the clock.

"Geez we have to hurry up, they'll be back in approximately half an hour" Luke said and sat up unceremoniously.

"No, stay here. We can sleep, I'm tired" she whined and tried to pull him back down.

"And then Liz, TJ and your parents will find us naked in our bed when they are back?" he asked.

"You forgot our kids" she giggled.

"I only mentioned the ones that would really freak me out" he said and shuddered a bit at the thought.

"When our kids would find us naked in bed it wouldn't freak you out?" she asked and opened her eyes for the first time to look at him.

"Well, it would, but it wouldn't scare me. They know how we look naked, it's not like they would see anything new. The thought of TJ seeing you like that, on the other hand makes me feel very uncomfortable," he clarified.

"Not to mention my mother seeing you like this," she laughed and gave his naked body a long glance.

"See, now come, on get up" he said and poked her in the side.

"Okay, okay I'm up, Mr. Grumpy pants. Oh, wait… you don't wear any" she smiled and slapped her own thigh with her hand to emphasize the joke she had just made. When Luke gave her another pointed look she finally got out of bed and handed him his crutches and took his clothes from the floor and some for herself before they made their way into the bathroom next door.

"I feel ridiculous walking naked on crutches" he grumped.

"Sorry, honey, but it really looks ridiculous. I can't argue with you on that one" she giggled and slapped his butt playfully.

"Hey" he said, but couldn't do something, since he had the crutches in his hands.

"Come and get me" she laughed and ran into the bathroom, giving him something to look at, when she jogged past him, naked as well.

"I can assure you that you running naked is equally ridiculous" he shouted after her with a smile and heard her turn on the water.

**Leave a review please**

**TBC**


	33. Hide me

**Leave a review if you like it**

* * *

**Chapter 33: Hide me**

Luke and Lorelai had showered, dressed and started dinner when the kids and the rest of the family had come back. Lorelai had helped Luke to shower and get down the stairs, because he had more problems going down the stairs than up the stairs. Lorelai had enjoyed it somehow that she could help him and that he had leaned on her, literally. And Luke himself had found out that it wasn't that bad to depend on his wife, what also might have something to do with that fact that she had kissed him after every step they had taken together.

"I think walking down the steps is my new favourite thing to do" Luke had laughed when they had reached the bottom and made their way into the kitchen.

"Good, then we can repeat that at least in the morning and in the evening when we wake up or go to bed" she had smiled and given him another peck.

"You want me to sleep upstairs again?" he had asked her.

"Sure, I never wanted you to sleep down there. At least not without me" she had admitted.

"Why don't you sleep downstairs with me until I can walk a bit better? Otherwise I will need to go back to bed the moment I reach the bottom in the mornings" he had suggested and she had happily agreed.

* * *

So now that the kids were back and chatting away about the animals they had seen in the zoo. Lorelai laughed when Richard told her that William spotted the big cage with the guinea-pigs and had refused to go any further into the zoo. Only when Emily had ordered him to follow, he had done that but had pouted all the time and had found a reason with every animal they had seen why guinea-pigs were so much better. 

"But guinea-pigs are way cooler than those smelly lions!" William insisted.

"I am relieved you feel that way, because we can't buy you a lion as a pet" Luke smiled and stroked over his hair.

"They smell, daddy," William said and made a disgusted face.

"And they eat little chickens. Raw! That is so yucky," he went on and was interrupted by Laila.

"There were Teddy bears," Laila said, sitting on her grandfather's lap and watching her parents cooking. Meaning Luke cooked and Lorelai gave him the ingredients, so he didn't have to move that much.

"And you my baby, what did you see?" Lorelai asked Sara, who sat on her grandmother's lap.

"A monkey" the girl replied. It had been the first day she had to walk for most of the day and she was exhausted. TJ had carried her around for a while, but then he had started yammering and she had had to walk again.

"And what did the monkey do?" Lorelai wanted to know and crouched down in front of her daughter.

"Like that" Sara said, leaned forward, slung her arms around her mother's neck and her legs around her mother's waist.

"Luke, honey, look the Sara monkey is back" Lorelai laughed and kissed her daughter on her cheek.

"I am not a monkey, Mommy" Sara said as laid her head sleepily on her mother's shoulder.

"I remember that we had that exact conversation some years ago" Luke had to laugh, remembering their trip to the cabin two years ago. It was one of these casual every day moments that stuck somehow. It was like with pictures for him: The candid one was the best and he also liked these every day moments and random cuteness more than endless declarations of love.

"Yeah, me too," Lorelai smiled and gave him a long and gentle kiss.

"Daddy have you stopped yelling? Is mommy happy again?" William asked bluntly when he saw his parents kiss.

"I am very happy, baby boy," Lorelai admitted and ruffled through his hair.

"I am …," William started.

"…not a baby," Luke and Lorelai said simultaneously and everybody had to laugh.

"I'm gonna put Sara in her bed," Lorelai said then and Luke kissed his sleeping daughter.

"Good night baby, sleep tight," he told her, although he knew she couldn't hear him.

* * *

"The kids behaved?" Luke wanted to know from his in-laws. 

"No problems. William was pouting a bit, Sara was a bit whiny, but all in all we had an enjoyable time together" Richard said and bounced Laila up and down on his knees.

"Your brother in law on the other hand, was a whole different thing. That man is insane. He was worse than the children and I beg you Luke, don't make me sustain that man another time," Emily begged and both Luke and William had to laugh.

"I told grandma that he is nuts," William giggled and hugged Luke's right leg.

"Are you tired?" Luke asked him.

"No," came the muffled reply.

"I want a hug, daddy," William said then. Luke leaned against the counter and was able to lift William. He couldn't keep him in his arms though and so he sat him down on the kitchen counter and hugged him then.

"Better?" he asked him.

"Better. I missed you today, Daddy" William admitted, which earned him a kiss.

"l see you are feeling better Luke" Richard said and nodded approvingly.

"Yes, slowly but steadily it's getting better, although it's really exhausting. Suddenly I admire every toddler I see walking around.

"Understandable. I think it's incredible what you have achieved in that short time though," Richard complimented.

"Thank you, Richard," Luke said and put William back on the ground.

"Go and feed Meeko and Barney. There is some salad over there," he told him and William did what he had been told.

"I wanna feed Barney," Laila said, sprang from her grandfather's lap and ran after her brother.

"She's out cold," Lorelai smiled when she came in and held open the door for Laila.

"You put her in her own bed?" Luke asked.

"Yes, if she has a nightmare again we will hear it," Lorelai said and waved with the baby phone.

"It's good we didn't throw away these after the twins were old enough," She sighed and plopped down on a stool.

"True, but we didn't know if…," Luke trailed off.

"Yeah," Lorelai sighed, forgetting her parents.

"You wanted more kids?" Emily asked surprised and looked from one to the other.

"No. I mean, yes. We never really decided and then I was too busy and then too old," Lorelai explained.

"I think four kids are more than the average," Richard said.

"Yeah especially since the risk of getting twins again would be higher, cause I would have been older. And five little kids? Sorry, but no way!" Lorelai shook her head and Luke suddenly laughed.

"What?" she asked him confused.

"I just pictured you finding out that you would be once again pregnant with twins," Luke chuckled.

"I would have killed you, hon'!" Lorelai laughed, but Emily and Richard both only raised an eyebrow, because they didn't find the topic one to joke about.

"So what did you two do all day? You read the book you were talking about, Lorelai?" Emily tried to change the subject.

"No, not really. I got somehow distracted," she smiled in a way at Luke that made it more than clear what they had been doing all day.

"I am happy to hear that you two are getting along again," Richard said and Lorelai nearly dropped the glass of water she held.

"Dad!"

"Richard!" Lorelai and Emily shrieked, while Luke blushed deeply.

"Well, we are all adults here and we were worried about you two," Richard shrugged.

"Dad, please. I am touched by your concern, but...please just leave it!" Lorelai laughed when she saw how uncomfortable Luke was. Before Richard could reply anything the kitchen door flew open and William ran in.

"Help! Help!" he cried and slammed into his fathers legs and slung his arms around them.

"Will, what happened?" Luke asked worried and Lorelai jumped off her chair and ran to her son.

"Hide me, daddy please!" William yammered.

"William?" Luke got impatient and it was clear in his voice.

"TJ and Gary are coming. The car stopped outside," William reported and just as he finished the doorbell rang.

"Will, don't scare us like that! And where is your sister?" Lorelai scolded and raised her eyebrows, while she got off the floor and walked towards the kitchen door.

"Stupid Laila saw them first and took my spot in the wardrobe. Now I need a new place to hide. Help me, Daddy please," he begged.

"TJ is family and no matter how annoying they get you don't hide from family. You stand up to your obligations and you are friendly and helpful," Luke lectured him.

"But you said yesterday that you would kick TJ's butt if you could. So help me or I will kick him," William threatened.

"Will! Out! Now!" Lorelai suddenly re-appeared in the kitchen.

"What? No! Don't make me go out there," William yammered.

"You left the cage open and now Meeko and Barney are running through your Daddy's bedroom. Get them in the cage again, now," Lorelai told him and pointed towards the bedroom.

"But if you and Daddy are okay again, he doesn't need it anymore. It could be Meeko's and Barney's room. They don't have a room, that's not fair," William argued with her.

"William! Meeko, Barney, cage, like two seconds ago" she told him in memo-style. Overdramatically he sighed and marched off.

"Did he leave his brain with the lions in the zoo or what is wrong with him?" Lorelai shook her head and went to open the door.

"Well, I have to say I understand him somehow. This TJ is really… something else" Richard said.

"Don't get me started. I wish the wardrobe would be bigger. I would offer you a place" Luke sighed and turned back towards the dinner.

"Do you need help?" Emily asked and stood up from the table.

"No, I've got in under control"

"Luke I am sure you need help," Emily said and took the knife out of his hand.

"Emily, what…?" Luke asked surprised and wanted his knife back, so he could resume cutting the tomatoes for the sauce.

"You can't offer me a space in that wardrobe and I can't hide in bathroom, but if I have to be around TJ another minute more today, I will kick his butt, as William put it," she hissed and Luke had to laugh.

"Okay, the kitchen stays TJ free," he promised her and took another knife while Emily started making the salad.

* * *

Naturally, when TJ, Liz and Gary entered the house the chaos broke lose. Liz ran after Gary and tried to take the chocolate he had away from him, while TJ told Richard bout his life altering observations in the zoo. Emily and Luke hid in the kitchen, but Lorelai was kind enough to come into the kitchen every few minutes and tell them word by word what TJ had said.  
The hiding was over when dinner was ready and Lorelai took Laila out of the wardrobe, woke up Sara and forced her mother and Luke to leave the kitchen and join the rest of the family in the dining-room. 

"Where is William? Didn't you call him?" Luke asked when he sat down and looked around. Even Rory was there now, but William was still missing.

"Of course I called him. Two times, that is," Lorelai said while she put food on the plates.

"Rory could you go into the guest-room and get him? Maybe he fell asleep in front of the cage again," Luke said, too tired to stand up again. His hands were hurting enough from the crutches.

"Sure" Rory said, stood up and walked towards the guest-room. She was only halfway there when she heard strange noises, which soon turned out to be muffled sobs.

"Will?" she called and tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"William, open the door and come to dinner," she told him. She heard that he said something, but she couldn't understand him. What she heard though sounded very panicked.

"Will, calm down and open the door please. Or should I go and get Mom?" she tried to calm him.

"No!" she heard him yell from the inside.

"Then what is it? You have to eat something," she tried again.

"I can't unlock the door," she heard him cry from the inside.

"Where is the key?" Rory tried to stay calm and rational.

"In the lock"

"Then turn the key to the left," she advised him.

"I can't. It's stuck," he sobbed. Rory thought for a second, and then she had an idea.

"Okay, then pull the key out and slide it through under the door. The slit is big enough," she said and heard when he took the key out and then she saw it under the door. She picked it up and opened the door with it. Her little brother tumbled out of the room and into her arms.

"I thought I'm gonna die in there," he cried and Rory had to laugh.

"You are such a drama queen. Just like Mom," she said and stroked his tears away.

"But why didn't you call Mum or Dad? You know how the house phone works," she ked him then.

"They forbid me to lock the door, but I had to otherwise Gary would have come in," he admitted.

"Ah, I understand," She smiled and put him back down.

"Don't tell them. Please," he said and looked with his big blue eyes up at her like a little lost puppy, a pouting puppy.

"I won't. It's our secret," she promised him, which brought her a thankful smile from her brother and together they walked back into the dinning-room.

"Will, I called you several times. What were you doing?" Lorelai asked him when he entered.

"He fell asleep, just like you said mom" Rory jumped in and sat down. Luke and Lorelai looked at William, then at Rory and they knew that she was lying. His red teary eyes tipped them off, but as long as Rory decided it wasn't worth being mentioned, it couldn't be as bad and they would allow them their little secret.

"Man I feel weird eating that duck after seeing all those birds in the zoo today. There was this one bird, a Leo I think, he could speak. He could freakin' speak. I tried to teach him how to say "TJ", but he couldn't say it," TJ told them.

"He spent a whole hour in front of that cage, without success," Liz added and patted her husbands hand lovingly.

"Poor bird," Emily, Luke and William muttered all at the same time, which caused Lorelai to laugh out loud.

"You three spend way too much time together during the last year," she giggled.

* * *

Emily and Richard both left immediately after the dinner, both exhausted from the long day, but Lorelai and Luke had to sit with TJ and Liz for some more hours, because they only went home when Gary had fallen asleep with his face on the table. 

"Geez, I thought I had missed the moment when they had moved in," Luke grumbled.

"Oh, my poor husband," Lorelai cooed and slung her arms around his middle.

"Let's bring the kids to bed and then go to sleep," he said, but puller her even closer to him.

"You really want me to sleep with you in the guest-room?" she asked and gave him a peck.

"You seriously want to sleep alone? I think I earned me some company this afternoon," he grinned.

"Earned? You think you were that good?" she teased him.

"I think I have it on good authority that I was," he gave her a cocky smile and she had to laugh.

"Okay, you are right, you earned you some company. I think Meeko will be happy to share your bed," she said. Luke leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Please," he said during the kiss.

"Check.. on… the… kids…," she muttered back, but resumed kissing him.

"I'll wait for ya in the bedroom," he told her when they broke apart.

"Okay. Maybe I'll make it worth the wait," she winked at him and then walked up the stairs to check on the kids and he made his way into the guest-room.

**TBC**


	34. Cotton Candy

**I think this chapter is kind of a filler, but I was told it isn't so see yourself and tell me ;)  
**

**Also I have to make a confession: I started writing new story with a friend under a new name we created together. I wasn't goint to tell you but one of the readers did what we thought wouldn't be possible: She found out I am writing it (at least part of it).**

**The story is called "Her dream" the name is "TheCooperation", you might want to check this story out.. except when you're a spoiler-phobe cause it contains spoilers for season 7 **

* * *

**Chapter 34: Cotton Candy**

"Lorelai, no I don't wanna go and eat there again. Let's go home" whined Luke while Lorelai dragged him through the mall.

It was two days before Christmas and they still had to do all the present shopping. Because of Liz and her family they had been occupied before and had been pleasantly surprised when TJ's brother had invited them and they had agreed. Liz had pointed out though, how much she wanted to spend Christmas with her big brother, but Luke had assured her, that it was okay.

The kids had celebrated like it had already been Christmas when the car had driven off, Gary safely buckled inside. Neither Luke nor Lorelai could say at this point that they were sad that they were leaving, Santa or not.  
They would find a Santa somewhere else, or they would tell the kids something, but TJ was gone and that was good.

Finally they had some more time to themselves and could develop something similar to a normal schedule. They would wake up together in the morning, have breakfast together before they would wake the kids, then get them ready and take them together to pre-school and kindergarten.

Afterward Lorelai would go to the Inn after dropping Luke at the Diner. She had convinced him that he only could do the bills for as long as he wasn't able to walk without crutches. That was enough work, because there was so much to catch up on, so much that nobody but Luke knew how to book.

So he spent the time up in his office, doing bills and books until Lorelai would stop by with the kids after school was over. They would have lunch together, Lorelai would drop them off at home and Luke would look after the kids for as long as Lorelai was working. When she came back home he had already cooked, they would have dinner together, bring the kids to bed and then they finally had some alone time again.

In general they would tell each other what happened during their day, what the kids did, what happened in the diner or the Inn. They enjoyed this time so much, just being able to talk to each other again, while they lay in each others arms on the couch, the TV screen flickering in front of them, but muted. Sometimes they would take a bath together instead, or afterwards, or make love, before, after or in between.

They felt like a married couple again and not like a patient and his nurse, no matter how naughty she was. For Lorelai it was kind of a new experience after months without having him, that she had a partner again, someone to talk to and share everything with. The worries, the happiness, or just thoughts and randomness. From time to time during these talks on the couch she found herself listening in awe when he told her his opinion on something. She would sit on the couch, snuggled into him and stare at him, listen to the sound of his voice and what he was saying.

One time he had caught her staring at him, but it was Luke and he still knew her better than she knew herself and he also knew why she had been staring. He had given her a smile and a kiss on the nose and had gone on talking.

Now they were at the mall, shopping for Christmas presents for the kids and the rest of the family. Luke had always hated the mall, but this year with the crutches in the crowded mall his mood had reached a historical low point and Lorelai tried to lighten it up with Pizza, burgers, sandwiches and salad every few minutes in the food corner. It had only been two hours they had spend in the mall until now, well only for Lorelai. For Luke it was exactly 56 minutes too long. He wanted to go home, sit down and relax and not trying to make his way through a mall with crutches while his wife spend tons of money on dolls, clothes, toys in general, DVDs and books. So he had started to whine and was seconds away from going on his knees and beg her to leave.

"But Luke we still need something for you!" she told him and didn't stop walking until Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

"Lorelai, I don't need anything I already have everything I want. So if you want to do me a favour then please let's just go home. My arms and hands are hurting like hell from the crutches and my legs have started shaking ten minutes ago." He told her. Her smile vanished and a worried look crossed her face.

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought it was just your normal mall- crankiness occurring." She told him ashamed and looked down. She felt for not thinking about how exhausting this was for Luke.

"No mall crankiness. Just tired and exhausted. Can we go now?" he asked and gave her a small smile to make her feel better.

"Yes sure. I'll come back tomorrow and get you your present" she said. Luke knew it was futile to try and talk her out of getting him a present, so he just nodded and gave her a quick kiss. Lorelai smiled shyly and together they walked to the car. Lorelai threw the several bags into the trunk and Luke got in on the passengers side in the meantime.

* * *

When they were on the highway back to Stars Hollow Luke turned the music down Lorelai had turned on. 

"Hey, why are you turning out "Last Christmas"? It's a classic, you just have to sing along and it stops being annoying" she grinned.

"I will not sing along with a guy who got caught in a public bathroom doing… well… what he was doing. Actually I want to talk with you about something," he said.

"Oh my god! Where do you know from that he did it in a public bathroom?" she laughed.

"I watch the news," he shrugged a bit embarrassed.

"The bring reports about George Michaels love life on FOX news?" she teased him.

"He got arrested for it," Luke sighed, knowing he couldn't win this.

"Yeah I know, but I am shocked that you know. Now I have the proof: You read my Instyle magazines!" she laughed.

"I did not"

"Did too!" she said and pointed her index finger to his face.

"Can we drop this now. As I was saying I wanted to talk to you about something," he tried it again.

"I am listening, but I will not forget this, bucko," she giggled. Luke gave her a desperate look.

"Really I am listening. And now shoot," she told him.

"Okay. I wanted to ask you what you think of going to the Christmas festival tonight," he said.

"What?" she asked if she hadn't understood him. Her voice was toneless and all color had left her face.

"I want us all to go to the Christmas festival tonight," Luke said again and stroked over her right hand, which was gripping the steering wheel so tight that her knuckled turned white.

"You hate festivals" she said after a long time of silence, when she had gotten over the initial shock.

"I do not hate the festivals and you know that. I pretend to hate them so you can convince me to go out there and pretend that I am not having fun," he reminded her.

"Yeah right. But… but… I don't think it's a good idea to go to the festival tonight," she said then.

"Why?" he asked, although he already knew the real reason she didn't want to go.

"Because I have a lot of things to do at the Inn before Christmas and you are exhausted and it's too cold out for the kids," she rambled.

"They spent half the day outside yesterday building a snowman, I will have recovered until then and you don't work in the evenings," he told her and raised his eyebrows.

"I just don't wanna go," she said then. They had arrived at the house and Lorelai turned off the engine and hurried into the house without taking the bags with her. Luke got out of the car, slammed the door shut and walked into the house.

"Ah Geez" he said when he walked into the house and found her purse on the stairs and he knew she had fled upstairs. So he took his last strength and made his way upstairs with the crutches. As expected he found her in the bedroom.

She was sitting on the bed, facing away from him and he knew she was crying. Without saying anything he sat down beside her and pulled her in his arms. Immediately she slung her arms around his middle and buried her head in his shoulder.

"I don't wanna go!" she cried. Luke held her for a while, then pulled back and forced her to look at him.

"Nothing will happen. I will stay by your side all the time and nothing will happen," he said.

"You don't know that! What if another drunken kid decides to drive? It could happen again Luke" she sniffed.

"Lorelai accidents can happen everywhere, not only at town festivals. I mean, how long have you lived in this town?"

"You know how long," she replied, still stubborn.

"Yeah I know how long and I have been living here even longer. Hell, my grandfather already lived here. And in the history of this crazy town are exactly two major car accidents: The one my mother died in and the one Sara and I were in. That's it. Since 18 hundred and something: Two car accidents. Nothing will happen Lorelai. We all need to get over the fear of going to a town festival. You always loved them and the kids do to. I want you to have fun at those festivals again and not dread each day that they are there." He said but she didn't look convinced yet.

"Let us go there tonight with the kids. We will buy them some cotton candy, you can have some as well if you like and then we walk around, look at the booths these loons decorated and then we go back home. Just for a few minutes, let us go there. Sara is scared as soon as she sees the decorations, as well as Laila and Will. We have to get over this fear and live like before again."

"I will never be able to live like before again. I nearly lost my daughter and my husband that will be burned in my brain forever," she told him and then suddenly kissed him, but Luke pulled back.

"Please, let us go to the festival. I don't want the kids to be scared of the festivals for the rest of their lives," Luke explained and gave her another peck.

"Me neither," she admitted.

"Good," he smiled and hugged her.

"I never thought I would live the day when you would beg to go to a festival" her muffled voice could be heard a few seconds later. Luke only rolled his eyes.

* * *

That evening, while the whole family was still gathered around the table after dinner, Luke broke the news to the kids. 

"Hey, we have a surprise for you," he said and the kids immediately started yelling.

"What daddy? What surprise?"

"For me too?"

"Tell me mommy!" they all yelled excitedly.

"Hey, quiet! Your mommy and I decided that as a surprise we will grab our jackets now and then we will pay a quick visit to the Christmas festival," he said as excitedly as possible and as soon as the words had left his mouth the room dropped silent. The kids were only staring at him, not saying a word and especially Sara seemed shocked.

"We don't wanna go," William said then and spoke out loud what they were thinking.

"Well, too bad, cause your mother and me want to go and you can't stay here by yourself. So go and grab your jackets and then we'll go," Luke said and pulled Sara in his lap.

"We'll be right there Baby, nothing will happen," he whispered in her ear and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

Slowly they had made their way to the festival and William, who did not want to admit that he was scared, had found several excuses to win time such feeding his pets, needing another jacket or having to pee two seconds before they wanted to leave. Shortly before they reached the town-square Sara had slipped her hand out of Lorelai's and had grabbed Luke's arm. William had grabbed his father's other arm and Laila held Lorelai's hand so tight that she thought her fingers would fall off. Because Lorelai needed a connection to Luke and his hands were occupied with the crutches and his arms with the kids, she placed her free hand on his back and stroked over it. Luke wanted to say something at first, because he felt uncomfortable about her public display of affection, but on the other hand it calmed him and he knew she needed it to calm herself as well. 

"Oh there you are dolls. We weren't sure you would come," Miss Patty said when she saw them and grabbed herself a glass of punch before she walked up to them.

"Isn't it beautiful with all the snow and those twinkling lights? It's really magical, isn't it?" she smiled and pinched William's cheek.

"Urgh" he made quiet, but not quiet enough. Miss Patty had heard him, but she knew the boy and so she just laughed. He was just like his father.

"And you two my angels when will you come back to my ballet classes? The other girls are missing you and honestly I am really lost without you two because you are my best ballerinas. This grace and elegance while you are dancing, no one else has that," she gushed.

"Mommy, can we go next time?" Sara asked suddenly and startled both of her parents.

"Uhm, yes sure you can," she told them and both girls smiled.

"Have you two lovebirds already tasted the punch?" Miss Patty put her attention back to Luke and Lorelai.

"No, we haven't and we won't because I don't think it's a good idea to get drunk when the kids are here," Luke grumped.

"Rory was funny when she was drunk and Logan too" Laila said and giggled. The kids had seen their big sister and her boyfriend drunk one time when they had woken up the whole house at night with their drunken singing.

"Well I can sing even when I am not drunk," Lorelai laughed and started to sing "Jingle Bells", which caused the kids to scream out in horror, while Luke only laughed.

"Daddy there is Davey at the candy stand. Can I have something too?" William asked then and started pouting already when he asked the question.

"Why don't we go over there together and get something. Some chocolate covered fruit for your daddy and something completely unhealthy for us, okay?" Lorelai grinned and nudged Luke.

"Yay! I want some cotton candy!" William yelled and ran off to the booth.  
From that moment on the ban was broken and the family simply enjoyed being at the festival together. From time to time something like fear flickered in the eyes of one of them, but then the looked around and saw each other and everything was right in the world.

**Please tell me what you think **

**TBC **


	35. Christmas songs

**So, this is the first part of Christmas at the Danes. I hope you like it. **

**And I also hope that you'll leave me a review.**

* * *

**Chapter 35: Christmas songs**

On the morning of Christmas Eve Lorelai woke up with a smile. She was lying in her warm bed while she could smell the snow outside, snuggled up to her gorgeous husband, whom she felt watching her. Her three kids were still asleep in their beds, healthy and totally beat after a major snowball fight the evening before. They had finished the snowmen in the front-yard and then surprisingly Luke had started a snowball fight. The snowballs had flown everywhere and they had all been completely soaked by the time they were finished, but so happy.

For Luke and Lorelai it had been even more special because that evening they had seen Sara absolutely carefree for the first time after the accident. She had run around, thrown snowballs and had giggled and laughed the whole time. Nearly four months after the accident she had finally acted like her old self for the first time again.

Lorelai had had the urge to scoop her up in her arms and hug her until she couldn't breathe anymore, but she had just watched her in awe playing with her siblings. Luke had felt the same and they had embraced each other, because they felt they couldn't keep the happiness to themselves and needed to share it with someone, each other. The moment had been over when the first snowball had hit them in their faces followed by William's hysterical giggles. Luke wasn't yet able to run after him and so Lorelai had tried, but failed, what had caused the boy to laugh even harder.

So the next morning when she woke up, those happy feeling were still present, also because she had replayed those scenes in the front-yard over and over in her dream that night. The first night during which she hadn't dreamed of the accident or the hospital.

"Mmmh, good morning" Lorelai mumbled smiling and slowly opened her eyes.

"Good morning," Luke said with that sexy raspy morning voice of his causing her smile to only get wider, before she tilted her head up to kiss him.

"Very good morning," she said happily after the kiss and lay her head on his shoulder and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Luke slung his arms around her and pressed a kiss on her temple, leaned his cheek on her hair and closed his eyes and just enjoyed this moment.

"If I wasn't too lazy to undress you we could go into another round of love making right now. We really should start sleeping naked," she mumbled into his neck, before she bit it playfully.

"Mmh and then William will decide to wake us again because he will be too scared to walk downstairs alone again and get something to drink, because Voldemort might be downstairs and he'll find us naked in bed. Hurray!" Luke remarked dryly.

"Oh my…you said the name of who-might-not-be-named, now he'll come and get you" Lorelai mumbled sleepily, stuck her hands under his shirt and scraped his skin softly with her fingernails.

"You really shouldn't have let him watch Harry Potter," Luke said and grabbed her hands with one of his and held them in place on his chest.

"He wanted to watch it. I warned him, but he wouldn't stop whining," she shrugged and nibbled at his neck again.

"So he can watch now whatever he wants and you turned to Dracula?" Luke asked.

"I think he learned his lesson. And you taste good," she explained and resumed what she was doing for a while before she went from nibbling to sucking on his neck.

"Hey don't give me a hickey," Luke scolded and moved a bit away from her.

"But it would be fun when my parents are coming over tonight. It's always fun to see the different shades of red on your face when they comment on our sex-life," she grinned.

"Okay, now you definitely killed the mood," Luke groaned and sat up.

"No, what are you doing? Lay back down and I swear I'll get you back in the mood in a few seconds" she pouted. Luke smiled and leaned down and kissed her slowly. She slung one arm around his neck and her other hand glided in his hair and pulled him closer. She deepened the kiss and teased him with her tongue until he opened his mouth and allowed her entrance. Their tongues played with each other and Luke played with her hair with one hand and his other stroked over the skin of her legs, which were exposed, because of the short and flimsy nightgown she wore.

They couldn't let it go much further though, because then the door opened and William marched in, ignoring completely what his parents were doing. He crawled on the bed and then tugged on Luke's shirt, causing Luke and Lorelai to break the kiss with a groan.

"William, what are you doing here?" Lorelai said with a whining tone in her voice.

"Can we decorate the Christmas tree now?" he asked.

"Will it is eight o' clock in the morning, go back to bed" she told him then and leaned her forehead against Luke's shoulder.

"But you said yesterday we would decorate the tree this morning. And it is morning. Now get up," he demanded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Luke only sighed and laid back down while pulling a pillow over his head.

"Aren't we bossy this morning, little Mister," Lorelai mocked her son and then grabbed his arms and pulled him on top of her. She hugged him and ignored his attempts to get out of her hug.

"Sleep, baby, sleep. Your father tends the sheep. Your mother shakes the dreamland tree. And from it fall sweet dreams for thee. Sleep, baby, sleep. Sleep, baby, sleep," Lorelai sang to mock him and rocked him from side to side.

"I am not tired anymore, Mommy. I wanna decorate the tree," William said, but slung his arms around his mother's neck.

"Three, two, one" Luke suddenly said and took the pillow from his face. Then the door opened again and the sleepy twins stumbled in.

"Can we decorate the tree now?" Sara mumbled and the yawned while Laila was still rubbing her eyes and was barely seeing where she was walking.

"Oh you two, come here my princesses," Luke chuckled and opened his arms for the twins to stumble into, which they happily did. He pulled them up on the bed and they snuggled up to him, half asleep again.

"Mommy sing," Sara muttered against her fathers chest, her eyes had drifted shut already.

"What do you want me to sing?" Lorelai asked her quietly and greeted her daughters with a kiss on the cheek for each.

"Lil' star," Sara whispered, while Laila had fallen asleep already.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are." Lorelai sang quietly and they all fell back asleep.

* * *

After a copious breakfast which reached into the afternoon they all were in their pyjamas in the living-room and decorating the Christmas tree. Luke sat on the couch, William beside him and tried to untangle the light-chain while Lorelai and the girls threw tinsel on the tree with both hands and sang Christmas songs on top of their lungs.

"Geez, somehow I remember that I told you to roll the chain up and not to throw it into the box. I'll never get this thing untangled there are too many knots in it. But for what do we need a light-chain on the tree anyway? It's not like we don't have any light in here. There are a thousand lamps in the room and even more of these smelly scented candles you put up in the whole house. So why do we need this thing? If the lights are out and we only turn this thing on its way too dark anyway to see a damn thing" Luke ranted while he tried to get the knots out of the chain and William nodded his head in agreement to everything his father said.

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch .You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus; you're as charming as an eel. Mr. Grinch," Lorelai sang and the girls started to laugh.

"Daddy is Mr. Grinch" Sara laughed, took one tilt and hung it over Luke's ear.

"Wait till I get ya," Luke threatened, but had to smile because his daughter was back being her sassy and bubbly self.

"I wouldn't touch you, with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole," Lorelai went on singing, grinned at Luke, took the light chain from him and sat down on his lap.

"Stop singing, it's awful," Luke said, still smiling and then kissed her to shut her up.

"Geez, do you always have to kiss? It's yucky and you look stupid," William grumped and pulled on his mother's shirt, which she had pulled on over her gown.

"You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch. You're a nasty, wasty skunk. Your heart is full of unwashed socks. Your soul is full of gunk. Mr. Grinch. The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote..." Lorelai started to sing again after she had pulled back from the kiss. This time she looked at William though.

"Stink, stank, stunk," Sara and Laila finished for her and threw some tilt over the three on the couch.

* * *

After Luke had untangled the light-chain and had put it on the tree, as well as the rest of self made decorations from the kids, it had gotten hectic, because they all had to shower, get ready, clean the house and Luke had to cook the dinner for the evening. Emily and Richard had wanted the family to come over to their house, but Luke and Lorelai thought it would be less stressful when the kids were home and could play and go to bed when they wanted.

While Luke was busy in the kitchen, Lorelai ran through the house and tried to clean up the mess they had made decorating the house. Trying being the operative word, because constantly Luke needed help, because still struggling to cook with the crutches, or the kids needed something, even if it only was attention. An hour before her parents arrived she had finally given up and had gotten ready herself instead.

William let his grandparents into the house and showed them were to put the presents. When Lorelai came down with the dressed up twins Emily and Richard were surprised to see Sara joking with her sister. Lorelai had told them on the phone already that the girl had changed a lot since the festival, but now that they saw it live it was something different.  
Although she tried not to have favourites, Emily cared especially about Sara because she reminded her so much of Lorelai as a kid.

"Hello Sara, hello Laila" Emily greeted them.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" the girls yelled excitedly and ran to them, because it had been nearly two weeks since they last had seen Emily and Richard.

"My, my, what pretty granddaughters do I have" Richard laughed and put Laila back down.

"Mommy gave us lip gloss, see!" Sara said and pursed her lips, before she smiled.

"Don't you think these two are too young for lip-gloss?" Emily asked Lorelai and raised her eyebrows disapprovingly. She got along quiet well now with her daughter but she was still Emily Gilmore.

"Didn't I tell you that?" Luke said and walked into the room.

"There is no such thing as too young for lip gloss, especially if it tastes like strawberry," Lorelai shot back and stuck out her tongue.

"This scented stuff is so unhealthy," Luke said and shook his head, what caused Lorelai to march over to where he stood and kiss him fully on the mouth.

"Geez," both William and Luke muttered and Luke wiped his lips, after she pulled back.

* * *

The dinner was fun for all of them. The kids told their grandparents their newest achievements, even if it was just that Meeko and Barney hopped into their cage on command now. During the dinner Emily glanced around and watched her family interacting. The only person missing was Rory, but she was with Logan at the Huntzberger's house that night and would come the next morning. Emily smiled when she saw how well they all got along and she was thankful for that, because the latest events had shown her how much she loved her grandchildren and how much she even likes Luke now. She would have been sad if he hadn't made it and not only because her daughter would have been broken then. She just couldn't imagine Lorelai without Luke anymore. They completed each other and they were a good team, just as she and Richard, but completely different at the same time. Emily had found the one over forty years ago and she was happy that her daughter had found the one man for herself also.Lorelai caught her mother's glance, gave her a smile and took Luke's hand at the same time and gave it a squeeze which he returned.

It has been late when the kids went to bed and it gave Luke and Lorelai hope that they would sleep long the next morning, because the four adults had sat a long time afterwards talking in the living-room. It had been so late then that Richard and Emily had taken the offer to spend the night in the guest-room. They had already spent the night so often during the last months that they had some clothes and toiletries at the Danes house.

* * *

"Today was nice," Luke said when they lay in bed that night.

"Today was really, really nice," Lorelai replied and placed a kiss on his arm.

"When will Rory and Logan stop by tomorrow?" Luke asked and pulled her closer to him.

"I think some time in the morning, but I don't know. She didn't mention a time," Lorelai shrugged.

"I hope she will stop by in the morning otherwise she'll have to open her presents alone, cause I will not make the kids wait until they show up" Luke said and yawned.

"Hey, you're not tired, right?" Lorelai asked and leaned on her elbow to look at him.

"No, that yawn was fake," he said sarcastically.

"But I wanted to go on where we left off that morning" she pouted, but slipped her hands under his shirt again.

"You're going to be the death of me, woman" he grinned and then kissed her, which soon lead to other things.

**TBC **


	36. Oh happy day

Because I see the interest with this story fading slwoly but surely I will try to end this whole thing within the next few chapters. I hope you'll stay with me at least for those last chapters. This one is the beginning of the end (and is not betaed yet)

Have a nive Christmas ! Merry Christmas!

* * *

Chapter 36: Oh happy day

„Mommy, daddy wake up! Wake up!" Sara yelled while she sat on Luke's stomach bouncing up and down. William was tucking on Lorelai's comforter and Laila tickled her feet. Lorelai opened her eyes and saw her excited children.

"Mommy, it's Christmas," William told her and immediately she shot up and sat on the bed, bouncing with her kids.

"Luke, Luke, wake up, it's Christmas!" she joined the chorus of the kids.

"Mmmh, let me sleep," mumbled like every year.

"But we wanna open the presents. Daddy get up!" Sara pouted like every year. Lorelai smiled at the scene. It was nice to have a tradition.

* * *

"_Hey, look honey, your daddy is still asleep. Let's wake him up, okay" Lorelai asked._

"_Daddy" one year old William squealed and started to squirm in his mothers arms._

"_You wanna go to your daddy, huh? Go and wake him up" she told the toddler in the blue one piece pyjama and sat him on Luke's stomach. William laughed and clapped his hands, before he leaned forward and placed a wet kiss on Luke's mouth. _

"_Daddy" he squealed again and started to bounce on Luke's stomach._

"_Let me sleep Will," Luke mumbled with closed eyes._

"_Will, say: Christmas, daddy" Lorelai urged him on._

"'_ismas daddy" William said and threw his hands in the air like Lorelai had done it just seconds ago._

"_Kiss," Luke demanded and opened first one eye then the other. William laughed, let himself fall forward and his mouth landed on Luke's nose instead of on his mouth this time._

"_Will, not on the nose" Luke laughed and wiped the wetness of his nose._

"_Nose" William repeated and pointed to his own nose._

"_Yes, that's your nose, but daddy wanted a kiss on the mouth. Where is my mouth William?" Luke asked him._

"_The'" William said and lay his index finger on Luke's lips._

"_Right, that's my mouth. Now give daddy a kiss, but on the mouth this time" Luke said and William gave him another wet kiss. Then Luke pulled him in his arms and cuddled his son close, what caused William to sigh and close his eyes._

"_You two are too cute for words," Lorelai , who sat on her side of the bed and had watched the whole scene, said._

"_I am not cute," Luke objected and closed his eyes again._

"_Yeah, yeah I know. But now get up you two sloth-bears. It's Christmas and we have to open the presents," she reminded them._

"_Pesents," William yelled, suddenly wide awake again._

"_Yay, presents. I get the other two and we meet downstairs," she told Luke, gave him a kiss and walked out of the bedroom to nurse the six-month old twins and then bring them downstairs._

* * *

"I really don't wonder where they got that from. In general you can barely get them out of their beds, but suddenly when there are presents somewhere or you absolutely don't want them to, for whatever reason they are wide awake and up at 5.30h" Luke ranted and sat up in his bed. But his family knew he wasn't really angry and just ignored his speech.

"Daddy kiss" Sara said and Luke gave her one, before William and Laila demanded the same thing and he also gave them each a kiss.

"Can we go downstairs and unwrap the presents?" William asked anxiously.

"Hey, what about me? I haven't gotten my kiss yet," Lorelai pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Why don't you three go downstairs and wake your grandparents. I am sure they'll be thrilled," Luke proposed.

"Yay, let's wake grandma and grandpa" the kids yelled excited and ran out of the room.

"You are an evil, evil man Mr. Danes" Lorelai said with a glint in her eyes.

"I know, but my wife wants her good morning kiss" Luke grinned and pulled her to him to kiss her thoroughly.

* * *

When they finally arrived downstairs half an hour later the kids had succeeded to drag Emily and Richard into the living-room in their gowns.

"Where have you been? We've been waiting forever for you," William grumbled when they appeared on the stairs in their pyjamas.

"Lower your voice and leave your poor old parents alone. We're not that fast anymore," Lorelai said and helped Luke down the last stairs.

"And what shall we say?" Richard yawned with Laila in his lap.

"Mommy, daddy hurry up!" Sara groaned when she saw her parents sharing some meaningful glances, without moving away from the steps.

"Gah, I think it's time for you three to move out and get your own apartment so that we can be as lovey-dovey as we want," Lorelai joked, but the joke implication was lost on William, who had Meeko in his lap.

"No, mommy, I don't wanna move out, please. We are too young. Only Rory is old enough to live in her own house," he said shocked and looked scared in his mother's direction.

"Oh honey, that was a joke. I never want you to move. Actually I might lock you into your room when you will be old enough to move out, so that you can't," Lorelai laughed, sat down beside William on the floor and hugged him shortly and then placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Should we wait for Rory or are we going to open the presents without her?" Emily asked and adjusted Sara's pigtails.

"I don't know when Rory will be here so I think we should start without her," Lorelai said and got off the floor.

"Who wants to start without us, you traitors?" Logan's voice suddenly came from the entry.

"Logan" William screamed, placed Meeko on the floor and ran to his sister's boyfriend. William adored Logan because he always played with him and took him out for some guys things like cart racing or the basketball. While he had very little connection to Rory, he had even more connection to Logan, what brought Logan some brownie-points with Lorelai and Luke.

"Hey everyone," Logan greeted them and held William on his feet over his head and the boy was screaming and giggling.

"Hey, Logan, hi Rory," Luke greeted them and shook Logan's hand while Rory greeted Lorelai with a hug.

"Hey mom, hey everyone," Rory said when she pulled back from the hug.

"Logan put me down, put me down" William yelled at the same time and tried to wiggle out of Logan's grasp.

"That you can jump on my back again, you little flea?" Logan laughed and started to tickle William.

"Help daddy help!" William squealed.

"Logan put him down", laughed Rory and Logan tickled William a last time before he put him down.

"Can we open the presents now?" Sara asked impatiently.

"Yes, ready, steady, go!" said Lorelai, and the kids ran to the tree and started to unwrap their presents. The adults just waited and watched them ripping off the paper and screaming in delight whenever they saw what was inside the package.

Lorelai had always been just as bad as the kids, running to the tree and ripping off the paper, but this year she sat beside Luke on the couch, her arms wrapped around one of his arms and her head lying on his shoulder while she watched the kids.

* * *

"_Ready, steady, go!" yelled Lorelai and ran to the tree, the kids and Rory following her. The twins were still a bit clumsy on their feet and they looked like they would topple over any second, while William with his two years was running behind his mother. _

_But while the twins just tumbled on the floor in front of the presents and Rory and Lorelai were already playfully fighting over a present, William couldn't stop._

_He was too fast and his legs just kept moving. Luke, who sat on the couch saw what was happening and called out._

"_Lorelai", he yelled, but it was too late. William crashed head first into the Christmas-tree, which slowly fell and buried Lorelai, Rory and the twins under it, while William was lying on top of it._

_Luke could here the screams and then all 4 heads popped out between the twigs, covered with tilt and William looking flustered around him. Luke started to laugh so hard he had to sit down on the couch._

"_You dork, come over here and get that tree off of us!" Lorelai screeched, but Luke couldn't get up. _

"_Daddy!" Sara yammered and started to pout, while Laila was already crying. Slowly Luke stood up and walked over to the small table where Lorelai had put the camera._

"_Oh no, you wouldn't" she screamed, nut Luke was already taking pictures from every angle while he was still laughing. Then he put the camera aside and pulled out the twins from the twigs and sat them on the floor before he got William off the tree and pulled Lorelai to her feet._

"_You meanie! You are so not getting lucky tonight mister!" she said and slapped his chest before she started laughing and hugged him._

* * *

"Don't you wanna go and open your presents?" Luke whispered in her ear .

"I already got mine", she whispered back. Luke didn't reply, he just placed a kiss on her temple and smiled.

"Hey that is mine!" William suddenly yelled and pulled a gift out of Sara's hands.

"No, you're lying!" yelled Sara back and tried to get the gift back.

"Take your hands off. You destroyed my present, you stupid, ugly girl" William yelled back and slapped her hands away and Sara started to cry.

"William, stop it!" Luke said and stood up.

"She unwrapped my gift. I wanted to unwrap it" William was now crying also.

"That is no reason to hit and insult your sister. She didn't do it on purpose" Luke said and took the half unwrapped puzzle out of William's hands.

"She did too! Stupid ugly frog Sara" William whined.

"I am not!" yelled Sara and ran to her mother, who pulled her in her lap.

"That's enough. You will go and apologize right now or Christmas is over for you" Luke threatened, but William only stomped his foot on the ground and yelled "no" as loudly as he could.

"Now" Luke said and pointed to Sara.

"No!" William yelled even louder.

"Upstairs, right now. You will go into your room and think about your behaviour. And trust me when I say that we won't accept it." Luke told William.

"I don't go up there" William shot back and threw himself on the floor.

"Don't make me bring you, cause then you'll stay up there until dinner" Luke said.

"You can't bring me, you can't even walk" William yelled and started to kick into Luke's direction. Luke, now really angry by William's behaviour, grabbed him by one arm and one leg and made his way up the stairs without crutches for the first time. He didn't even realize it until he had put William on the floor in his room and walked back down the stairs.

"Seems like finally everyone is back to normal", Lorelai grinned when Luke sat down next to her with a sigh.

"Yeah, but this more mature version of our son somehow grew on me", Luke said and pulled Lila in his lap.

"He'll be mature soon enough and then we really want this Will back, believe me", Lorelai grinned and gave Luke a quick kiss to show him, that she was supporting him in this though.

"Uhm, speaking of mature and stuff… we have an announcement to make" Rory suddenly broke the silence that had followed. Everybody looked at Rory and Logan curiously.

"We are getting married" Logan smiled happily and pulled Rory to him. Emily and Richard immediately rushed over and congratulated the couple, while Luke, Lorelai and the twins remained sitting on the couch.

Luke looked at Lorelai and saw the shocked expression on Lorelai's face. When Lorelai looked at him, he saw the question in her eyes: Did they hear correctly? Luke also wasn't sure.

"Oh happy day", Lorelai said sarcastically to Luke and hugged Sara to her before she realized that all eyes were on her and Luke now.

**TBC**


	37. I will kill you

**Okay, like I already said in my last chapter I can see the interest in the story fading and so I think the next chapter (38) will be the last one.**

**The lacking interest was also what caused me mainly to wait so long, although I thing the lacking readers numbers were co,ing from the not working alert-function.**

**I apologize to all those who were waiting and I appreciate thei offers to bribe me with cookies ;)**

**this chapter is not betaed yet, so sorry for the faults, but I didn't want to make you wait any longer!

* * *

****Chapter 37: I will kill you**

„Mom?" Rory asked worried when Lorelai didn't react. Luke squeezed Lorelai's hand, because he knew what she was thinking about this and saw her taking a deep breath.

"Rory, could I talk to you for second? Alone?" Lorelai asked her daughter then and walked up the stairs to her bedroom, without even waiting for a reply. Rory followed, Logan stood helpless in the middle of the room and Emily and Richard's facial expression were clearly showing that they were not happy about the fact that Lorelai obviously wasn't approving of this engagement.

Luke just sat on the couch and watched the whole scenario, debating with himself if he should say something as well. But in the end, he couldn't do anything different, that what his gut was telling him and so he stood up, took his crutches and then faced Logan.

"I want to talk to you. Kitchen. Now", he said and walked through the door into the dinning room.

"Excuse me", Logan said to Emily and Richard and then followed Luke.

"Grandma, what does enstraged mean?" Sara asked and tucked on Emily's pyjama pants.

"Engaged, Sara. The word is engaged. And it means that Logan and Rory will get married", Emily explained and sat down on the couch again, with her granddaughter in her lap.

"Why?" asked Laila and sat down next to Emily and dragged Richard with her by his hand.

"Sit", she ordered her grandfather and climbed in his lap when he was seated.

"Because they love each other and they want to spend the rest of their lives together", explained Emily.

"Like mommy and daddy?" Laila wanted to know.

"Yes, like your mommy and your daddy", Emily nodded.

"And like you and grandpa?" Sara questioned further.

"Yes and like your grandfather and me", Emily nodded again.

"Will they have a baby?" was the next question.

"I don't know. Maybe, some time in the future", Richard took over.

"And then we will have another brother or sister, but then we will be older", Sara concluded.

"No, this wouldn't be your brother or your sister, it would be your niece or your nephew. Like you are to Aunt Liz and Uncle TJ this baby would be for you", Emily replied.

"So it wouldn't live in our house?" Laila went on.

"No, it would live with Rory and Logan", grandmother Emily explained again with a lot of patience.

"That's stupid then I don't want them to get married", Sara decided and then climbed off the couch, leaving a stunned Emily and Richard behind and caught Meeko who was eating the Christmas-tree and put him in his cage.

* * *

"Logan proposed?" Lorelai simply asked after Rory had shut the door of the bedroom.

"Yes", Rory nodded.

"And you said yes?" Lorelai asked the next question.

"I think we established that by announcing our engagement", Rory shot back.

"Oh, don't be smart! You realize that today is not April first? And this is certainly nothing to joke about", Lorelai got really angry now.

"Mom, what is your problem?" Rory chose the direct approach.

"My problem? You really ask me what my problem is? Rory you really want to marry a guy who is cheating on you for years now? You want that?" she asked her daughter.

"Mom, he stopped cheating on me. He promised he won't do it again", Rory explained.

"And you believe that? Are you really that naïve?" Lorelai shot back.

"I am not naive, but I trust him because I love him, can't you understand that?" Rory sounded desperate, because she really wanted her mother to be happy about her engagement.

"No, honestly I can't because if the man I love would ever betray me like that I think I would lose the trust in anything I believe. God, only the thought that Luke could do something like that is unbearable. Rory if he would really love you, he wouldn't do that to you. He would look out for you and be there for you and would try to make you happy, the happiest he can. And not sleep with random women, whenever he likes", Lorelai said, and sounded as desperate as Rory.

"Mom, Luke's coma changed us too. We were broken up back then, but when I needed him, because my father was in coma and my mother was running around like an alien, he was there. He showed me that I can trust him and that he loves me. He was shocked when he saw what was happening to you and he said that he understood that life is too short to spend it hurting each other. Mom, I love him and I trust him and I really want to marry him, so please, can't you just be happy for me?" Rory asked and her eyes were slightly watery. Lorelai took a deep breath, because somehow she understood Rory while on the other hand, she didn't understand her not at all.

"I will try", Lorelai said then and Rory rushed over to her and into her mother's arms.

* * *

Luke meanwhile was waiting in the kitche for Logan and whirled around when the kitchen-door closed. Luke took some deep breaths to calm himself and then addressed Logan.

"Okay, I will make this short: If you will ever cheat on her or hurt her ever again I will come over and kill you slowly and painfully and then hide your dead body so no-one will ever find you. Do you understand me?" he asked and pointed his index-finger at Logan.

"Yes", the blonde young man nodded.

"We watched this for too long and hoped that you would split up for good some day, but that obviously didn't happen. If you marry her you will make her happy, you will care for herm you will watch out for her. I swear to god if there will be anymore troubles which you cause… you heard me!" Luke finished his little speech.

"Luke I understand what you re saying and I will make Rory happy, but I have to say that…" Logan started, but Luke interrupted him.

"No, you don't have to say anything. You heard me loud and clear. This topic is closed", Luke decided and walked out of the room, leaving Logan stunned in the kitchen.

When he arrived back in the living-room, he saw that Rory was back down, but Lorelai was missing.

"Your fiancé is in the kitchen", Luke told Rory. She looked scared, what he might had done to Logan, because she knew that if Luke wanted to beat Logan up, he could, even with his crutches.

"He's still alive?" she asked her step-father.

"Slightly shaken, but still alive", Luke told her and gave her a little smile.

"Thank you dad", Rory said and hugged Luke, before she went into the kitchen.

"I think I will go upstairs and look after Lorelai and Will", Luke informed his in-laws then and made his way up the stairs.

* * *

As he had expected he found Lorelai in William's room, talking to him, while he lay pouting on the bed.

"Hey", he said to get her attention and she stood up from the bed and walked over to the doorway where he was standing.

"He's still angry?" Luke asked Lorelai and pointed with his chin shortly in William's direction.

"Yes, he says you are mean, but I think he is more shocked that you have your strength back and can carry him to his room again. Whatever slight power he thought he had over you is gone now, I think that scares him", Lorelai said and laughed slightly when William huffed on the bed, because he had heard what she had said.

"And you talked to Rory?" Luke asked her then and slung his arms around her waist to pull her close.

"Yeah, she says that Logan has changed and that she trusts him and wants to marry him", Lorelai summarized the talk with her daughter.

"So same old same old", Luke shrugged.

"Yep", Lorelai nodded and leaned her head against Luke's shoulder.

"I had a little talk with Logan", Luke admitted then and Lorelai's head shot up and she looked at him.

"He's still alive?" she asked the same question as Rory minutes before and Luke chuckled.

"Yes, he is", he said.

"And what did he say?" Lorelai wanted to know.

"Nothing, I told him I would kill him if he will ever hurt Rory again and then I left the kitchen", Luke told her. Lorelai laughed and lay her head on Luke's shoulder again.

"Good talk" she mumbled into his shirt and he pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. He kept stroking with one hand through her curls, when he addressed William.

"Hey you! Listen, if you will ever treat a woman the way Logan treats Rory remember that your old father will kick your butt around", Luke told him and Lorelai laughed in his chest.

"Okay", was all William said, because of the slightly aggressive tone his father had addressed him with, although he had no idea what Luke was talking about.

"We should get downstairs and unwrap our presents" Luke whispered into Lorelai's ear and kissed her cheek.

"Okay," she nodded and kissed him softly on the lips before she stepped back from him, but kept one of his hands in her own.

"Hey, Will come on, you can unwrap my gift", Luke called William, who immediately ran to his father's side.

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, sure", Luke nodded and scooped him up in his arms and carried him to the stairs where he had to put him down, because he couldn't walk downstairs with him in his arms, because this was much more difficult than walking upstairs.

"Mommy, Daddy, have you seen Rory's ring? It's pretty!" Sara informed them when they arrived downstairs and pranced towards her parents, while William ran to the tree to search for one of Luke's presents which he would unwrap.

"No, we haven't yet", Lorelai said and looked at Rory's outstretched hand.

"It's beautiful", she admitted then and gave her eldest daughter another hug, before she sat down on Luke's lap and let the kids bring them their drawings and presents they made for them.

**TBC**


	38. Oh so different

**Okay, so last chapter... Wow.**

I'm a loss for words for what to say now, except that I am really sad this story is ending, because somehow the characters grew on me. It's hard to let go, I guess.  
But it has to be done,at some point there is nothing more you can tell.

Thank you so much for reading this story and thank you so much for your comments.

* * *

**Chapter 38: Oh so different**

„Hey Mom, it's me", Lorelai greeted her mother and sat down on the couch, beside the twins and William.

"Hello Lorelai. What a nice surprise that you are calling, we just came back from our trip a few minutes ago." Emily said politely and was happy to hear her daughter's voice, because since everything was okay again with Luke, she always sounded so happy. Neither Emily nor Richard had really realized how happy Lorelai had been until the accident happened and they had seen her so miserable for such a long time. It still hurt Emily to only think about this time, but at the same time it was a reminder for how good Lorelai felt now.

"Yeah, see, I told you I am psychic and you never believed me. But actually that's not why I am calling", Lorelai laughed.

"You could have left me my illusion, that you have finally learned what is polite when people come back from a journey", Emily lectured her and sighed, but didn't mean it in a bad way.

"Sorry, mom, no such luck with me. I am calling to tell you that we won't be able to make it to your party on New Years Eve." Lorelai said.

"What? But Lorelai, I asked you twice and you said you would come. Luke even told me he would bring pie. You can't just cancel on such short notice", came the prompt reply.

"Mom, I am really sorry and we would love to come, but we can't cause my three monsters here have the chicken pox", explained Lorelai and ruffled through William's hair, who had his head on her lap.

"Oh my goodness, why didn't you call us? We would have come back immediately to help you" Emily shrieked.

"No, it's fine mom, we have it under control. Luke is not fully back at the diner and over the holidays Sookie and I gave us some more free-time, so it's no problem. We have it covered. I also can't remember if you already had the chicken pox and although it would crack me up for the rest of my life if you would get the chicken pox now, I think it's better for all of us, if you don't." Lorelai said while she held Sara's hands in one of hers when the girl had started scratching.

"Well, of course I already had them or who do you think sat at your bed and held your hands the whole night when you were two and got the chicken pox?!" Emily asked her.

"Guess I never thought about that," Lorelai said and didn't want to admit that she had always assumed a nanny had cared for her back then.

"So when shall we be over?" Emily asked then and ended the chicken pox discussion.

"What?" Lorelai asked back confused.

"When shall we be over for New Years Eve?" Emily repeated.

"Mom you invited nearly fifty guest how do you want to join us?" Lorelai was still irritated.

"Well, yes. We agreed to celebrate this New Years Eve together, actually that is why your father and I came back early from our annual trip over Christmas, so yes I insist that we are celebrating together. We will just tell our guest that we have a family emergency and they need to celebrate somewhere else. Honestly I am glad I don't have to see them all, cause half of them I had to invite out of obligation and they bore me to death", Emily told Lorelai.

"Uhm, okay, that's unexpected but great. So I will tell Luke and he will add you two to the crowd so you'll get something to eat as well" Lorelai said.

"Luke is making the food?" Emily asked her.

"Yeah sure. I can't make it we don't want everybody to end up in hospital with food poisoning", Lorelai laughed and William made a face, when he heard his mother talk about cooking.

"Is Luke able to do this? I mean it's not that long that he woke up and now he should cook for all of us? How many people are there?"

"Basically everybody in Stars Hollow who already had the chicken pox. Logan and Rory, Paris and her boyfriend… yeah well everybody except Kirk, because strangely enough he never had the chicken pox and so he has to celebrate with his mother and cat Kirk".

"Cat Kirk?" Emily asked.

"You don't want to know. But even Taylor will come over", Lorelai said.

"So that means that you will have at least thirty people in the house?" Emily concluded.

"Yes, maybe a few more, it depends", Lorelai shrugged and gave Sara's hands free, only to grab her leg, with which she had started scratching now.

"Why don't we bring the food? I mean it is ordered and we have to pay it anyway. It would be a waste if we would just send it back. And this way Luke could relax, I m sure he can use it"Emily decided.

"Sounds great mom, I am sure Luke will like that. So tomorrow at eight?" Lorelai smiled.

"Tomorrow at eight. See you then Lorelai"

"See you then mom, Bye", Lorelai said and hung up.

"Grandma already had the chickenpox", she told her children then.

"So she will come?"Laila asked excitedly.

"Yes, they will come and they will bring food. No idea what they will bring, but it'll be enough for fifty people by Emily Gilmore standards, so we might invite as well invite Woodbury as well", Lorelai smiled and gave her daughter a kiss, before she stood up.

"So, who's up for the next bath in calamine bath?" she asked them, and all three jumped off the couch because they knew it would help with the itching.

* * *

"Grandma and grandpa are here!" William yelled for everyone to hear after he had opened the door for his grandparents.

"Well, hello my boy" Richard only smiled.

"My goodness how are you looking?" Emily shrieked when she sad him, because he was covered with white points everywhere.

"It's the stupid lotion, but it helps" William shrugged and was happy when his grandmother picked him up nonetheless and hugged him for a moment, because she hadn't seen him since Christmas.

"Look, now you look like you have the chicken pox as well" William laughed when he pulled back, because Emily had now the white points on her cheek as well. Richard joined Williams laughter.

"Yay" the twins both shouted, before they jumped into their grandparents arms, both dressed in their pink pyjamas, while William was wearing a blue one.

"Mam, where should we put this?" a man suddenly asked and was carrying one of the many plates with food.

"Uhm, we have to ask Lorelai. Oh there she is" Emily said when Lorelai entered the entrance, followed closely by Luke, who held her hand.

"Just put it in the dining room on the tables, thank you" Lorelai addressed the men with the plates and then turned to her parents.

"Hey, you. Oh mom, your cheek has the chicken pox as well now?" Lorelai laughed when she saw then cream points on her mother's cheek.

"Seems like William infected me", Emily joked while Richard rubbed the cream off his wife's cheek.

"So, well, come in. You know where everything is, you know everyone, so I hope you'll have a nice time", Luke addressed his in-laws and took William, who hung on his leg.

The boy hugged his father and Luke held him tight.

"I think he still has a bit of a fever", Luke told Lorelai then, what caused her to lay her hand on his forehead, before she kissed it, not caring about the cream, and then nodded.

"Yeah, he has. William honey are you okay?" she asked her son.

"My body hurts" he mumbled sleepily on Luke's shoulder.

"And you two? Are you okay? You don't have a fever anymore, but does something hurt?" Lorelai asked the twins after checking their foreheads.

"My head hurts", Laila complained.

"I'm okay", Sara shrugged and smiled. She had the lightest infection of the three, while William's body was basically covered with blisters.

"I think we will put you in bed again, okay? You will sleep some more and we will wake you up before the fireworks start", Lorelai decided and took Laila from her father.

"No, I don't wanna go to bed", they immediately started to yammer, but Luke and Lorelai just walked upstairs with them and placed them both into the twins bedroom.

"And you will really wake us up?" William wanted to be assured.

"We will really wake you up. Promise", Luke said and tucked the boy in, while Lorelai did the same with her daughter.

"Pinky promise?" William asked, already half asleep.

"Pinky promise" Luke smiled and logged his pinky with William's smaller one and Lorelai placed a last kiss on her daughter's forehead before they left he room.

* * *

Outside she slung her arms around her husband's waist and kissed him.

"Only one monster still up. If we succeed putting her to bed as well, we can get incredibly drunk and do it on the table. A little show for everyone", she grinned when they broke the kiss.

"I am sure your parents and Rory would love that", Luke raised his eyebrows.

"Meanie. But we could still get drunk", she shrugged.

"We promised to wake them. Maybe next year", Luke smiled and gave her another peck on her pouting lips.

"Mmmh, next year. Sounds good", she nodded and stole another kiss.

"And if not… we have the rest of our lifes still in front of us, I think there will be one New Years Eve when we will get drunk." Luke was still smiling.

"True. Maybe we should wait until we are ninety. The Sex on the table part would be so much more spectacular then", Lorelai grinned and Luke only shook his head.

"Crazy Lady" he only said and hugged her close.

"I am looking forward getting ninety with you by my side", Lorelai whispered in his ear and started to such on his neck.

"Yeah me too but let's get back downstairs, otherwise I will have to take you up on that sex part now", Luke whispered back and with their arms around each other they made their way back to their guests.

* * *

As the evening went on more and more inhabitants of Stars Hollow found their way into the Danes house and Sara was happy showing them all her blisters she had in her face, but in general she stayed close to her grandparents, enjoying their undivided attention for her.

Rory and Logan celebrated with younger generation of Stars Hollow, meaning Lane, Zack and Brian and their kids and families.

Taylor tried to hold a speech until Luke threatened him with the punch bowl, what caused Lorelai to break out in hysterics and afterwards Patty and Babette made good use of the punch in there while Morey was playing on the piano, Emily and Richard had bought for their grandchildren.

Even Kirk had found his way into the house, but refused to eat or drink anything, because then he would have to remove the mask he wore out of his fear of the evil chicken pox virus in the house.

Luke and Lorelai never parted for a second the whole evening. They acted like couple in the honeymoon phase, having their arms around each other all of the time, stealing kisses whenever they could and had more than one heated make out session after they had "checked on the kids", like they had said, as an excuse to get a minute alone now and then.

A few minutes before twelve o'clock they went and woke up William and Laila, like they had promised and carried them downstairs to celebrate with them.

Sara came running from her grandparents when she saw her siblings and together the crowd counted from ten to one, and Lorelai gave every kid a kiss for a count and when they had reached the "one" she and Luke sunk in a deep kiss, forgetting everyone around them. They embraced and kissed while Emily and Richard wished their grandchildren a happy new year and they still hadn't come up for air when Rory and Logan came over, both slightly drunk.

When they finally broke the kiss, they received the wishes of their family and friends.

All together they walked outside to watch the fireworks Taylor had organized and they all aahed and oohed and then laughed, when Kirk got scared of one of the bees, the kids had lit up and ran screaming over the front yard.

Luke and Lorelai had William, Sara and Laila in their arms, standing close together. Rory and Logan were laughing with Lane, Emily and Richard were talking quietly with Miss Kim.

Lorelai looked around her while the colourful lights lit up the sky and although there were so many people around her, she could only see seven.

Rory who looked so happy with her fiancé and her friends. She would go her way, whichever it would be.

Her parents, who were still together after so many years of marriage and with whom she finally got along and knew how much they cared about her, after all they had done in the past year.

William, Sara and Laila who watched the sky with big eyes and huge smiles on their faces, while they were still covered with cream points and were kept warm by their parents.

And finally Luke, her husband, the man she loved so much and with whom she had gone through better and worse, richer and poorer and now even through sickness and health, since they had known each other.

She felt so overjoyed this moment, that she couldn't stop smiling and gave her husband another kiss.

But this wasn't it, her whole package. It was oh so different. It was so much better.

**The end**


End file.
